The UNC Health Care System is a not-for-profit integrated health care system, owned by the State of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill. It exists to further the teaching mission of the University of North Carolina and to provide state-of-the-art patient care. A distinguishing characteristic of UNC Health Care is its association with the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, a nationally eminent research institution. This relationship gives UNC Health Care a powerful pathway for moving the results of biomedical research from medical school laboratories to patient care settings. UNC Health Care has been granted broad powers by the North Carolina General Assembly to assure its management flexibility and competitiveness in a rapidly changing health care business environment. The enterprise is governed by a board of directors appointed by the University of North Carolina.