UCI Health announces significant completion of hospital in Irvine

High-tech facility set to open in December

Orange, Calif. — UCI Health announced the significant completion of UCI Health — Irvine, the nation’s first all-electric acute care hospital. The milestone means move-in can begin into the 144-bed, seven-story, 350,000-square-foot hospital, set to open in December 2025. It will be the sixth hospital in the academic health system, which is one of the largest in California.

More than 200 members of the UCI Health and Hensel Phelps teams came together to celebrate and recognize the hard work and dedication the went into building a high-tech hospital of the future that will serve the community for generations.

“We are extraordinarily proud of this state-of-the-art facility and the visionaries who have worked tirelessly to bring it to fruition. We thank each person who has contributed to this project,” said Chad T. Lefteris, president and CEO of UCI Health.

"Their work means that residents of coastal and south Orange County will have full and convenient access to collaborative, research-driven, next-generation care, hallmarks of academic medicine.”

The hospital is the capstone of the $1.3 billion medical campus, which also includes the Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care and the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building.

Once open, UCI Health ― Irvine will be a full-service hospital, providing services for a range of specialties, including cancer, cardiology, digestive health, neurology, orthopedics and spine. Also onsite are advanced imaging, laboratory services, pharmacy services and a gift shop. Additionally, a 24-hour emergency department with 20 treatment rooms will serve the community.

Additional features include:

• Private, expansive patient rooms with and floor-to-ceiling windows with marsh views
• Sustainable, comfortable furnishings throughout the hospital, free from harmful vapors, materials and chemicals of concern
• Smart televisions in each room from which one can stream their favorite shows, interact with their care team or order a nutritious meal
• A garden-level surgical floor, three football fields wide, with 10 large high-tech operating suites
• A second-floor dining room and patio with floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the marsh
• An inpatient and guest menu developed in collaboration with a local chef
• 100s of original works from California artists, chosen by a specially convened committee of local artists, philanthropists and leaders, chaired by James Irvine Swinden, whose mother Joan Irvine Smith donated the land for UC Irvine

The facility is also on track to be the nation’s sixth hospital to be certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum, the highest level of certification for exceptional sustainability performance, energy and water efficiency leadership, waste reduction and indoor environmental quality.

Overlooking the San Joaquin Marsh Reserve, UCI Health — Irvine will also offer patients and visitors access to a meditation garden and outdoor patios to promote healing and strength.

Significant thought also went into creating spaces that enhance the well-being of co-workers at the hospital. Large collaboration rooms on each patient floor enable cross-functional training and learning that improves patient care and teamwork. Lavender rooms on each patient floor provide co-workers a soothing space with a view where they can decompress from stressful events.

For additional information, visit https://www.ucihealth.org/about-us/uci-health-irvine.