UC Regents on Thursday, Jan. 21, approved a $1 billion medical complex with a 144-bed hospital next to UC Irvine’s main campus.
Their approval clears the way for the university and its medical arm to get started on UC Irvine Medical Center Irvine-Newport, a multi-building complex that will offer specialty care in oncology, neurosciences, children’s health and other areas. It will not replace the large medical center the university operates in Orange.
UCI’s project is the third major medical development announced in Irvine in the last two years. In 2019, Duarte-based City of Hope announced a specialty cancer hospital with clinical research and outpatient facilities next to the Orange County Great Park, and Hoag Hospital got approval last year to more than double the number of patient beds at its Irvine campus on Sand Canyon Avenue.
UCI’s new medical center will be built on 202 acres next to its north campus facilities, across University Drive from the central campus. Some of the property will be set aside as gardens and natural areas within the San Joaquin Marsh Reserve.
University officials said more patient capacity is needed locally, as is focused care for cancer and other health issues, because some Orange County residents now travel elsewhere for treatment.
The existing UCI Medical Center hospital in Orange is “essentially full all the time” and has limited space for inpatients, UCI Health CEO Chad Lefteris said. As well as adding up to 144 beds, the new Irvine hospital will include an emergency department.
He said the hospital would be “full service,” but will also have areas it specializes in treating, such as neurosurgery, orthopedics and digestive health. The development will also include a Center for Children’s Health, medical offices and urgent care, and access to training for UCI students and clinical trials for patients.
“The new medical center will be a hub for discovery, teaching and healing,” UCI Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Dr. Steve Goldstein said.
“This is needed so that we can provide world-class care at home to Orange County,” he said.
In the county, “we also have a real challenge in providing health care to all (regardless of income), and that’s something UCI does,” he said.
While the coronavirus pandemic has brought attention to a current shortage of intensive care beds in California, the exact right number of hospital beds a region needs is hard to calculate and can change, said Kristof Stremikis, director of market analysis at the California Health Care Foundation.
For the long term, investment should be made in training the people who provide care, he said.
“The problems that we face when it comes to space are nothing compared to the problems that we face when it comes to workforce,” Stremikis said. “We definitely don’t have enough primary care providers. We definitely don’t have enough allied health professionals in some regions.”
That’s where UCI may have an edge. Lefteris said they’ll have to hire for some specialty positions that UCI doesn’t offer programs in, but university officials hope to “grow our own” for many of the 2,000 to 3,000 permanent jobs the medical complex will support.
The university recently has been expanding its health science offerings, which include medical, nursing, pharmacy and public health programs.
Orange County Business Council CEO Lucy Dunn said she’s pleased with the prospect of the skilled jobs that will come with UCI’s new medical center.
“Not just jobs, but high-paying jobs,” she added. “In a county that is a high-cost county to live in, having high-paying jobs is critical to keeping a well-trained work force here and keeping young families here.”
Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan said she looks forward to not only additional health care options for residents and new jobs, but the training opportunities for UCI students in health care disciplines.
“It’s great to have added benefits that the community can take part in,” she said.
City officials have some concerns about traffic, construction noise and adding to the workload of city police and firefighters, but UCI officials have been more than willing to discuss those issues, she said.
Construction of the multi-building complex and parking garage could start in the next few months. The Center for Advanced Care, including children’s health, medical offices and urgent care, could be ready in 2022, with the ambulatory care center opening in 2023 and the hospital expected to be finished in 2025.
“No other health system in the county is powered by one of the world’s finest academic research institution: the University of California,” Lefteris said. “Our goal is to make this expertise easily available to everyone in Orange County.”
***UC Irvine’s new medical center
A just-approved plan for a new medical complex on the north edge of the UCI campus would be built over the next several years. Here are some of the project highlights.
Name: UCI Medical Center Irvine-Newport
Location: Near Birch Street and Jamboree Road
Cost: $1 billion
Features: A hospital with up to 144 beds, specialty services in oncology and neurosciences, children’s health, medical offices and urgent care
Timeline: Construction could start in the next few months, with facilities opening over the next few years; the hospital is expected to be ready in 2025.
