Duke Health and UNC Health, the Triangle's two largest health care systems, officially announced Tuesday that they will partner together to build the state's first freestanding children's hospital here.

The facility, called “N.C. Children’s,” was characterized as a “decade-long goal” for both institutions and is expected to lessen the strain on other regional facilities amid increased demand for care.

Duke Health and UNC Health are creating a new nonprofit, North Carolina Children’s, to build and operate the 500-bed hospital. A site has not yet been chosen but is expected to be announced this summer. It will involve a campus of at least 100 acres with a children’s outpatient center and a children’s behavioral health hospital.