UCI Health Announces Strategic Restructuring to Meet Evolving Community Demand Across Full Spectrum of Care

Health system realigns operations to meet dynamic access, capacity, and community needs. 

March 23, 2026 – ORANGE, Calif. – UCI Health is implementing a strategic restructuring to ensure its programs, services, and clinicians can continue meeting the evolving needs of the communities it serves.

With its mission of discover, teach and heal, UCI Health is the only academic health system in Orange County, committed to caring for all. UCI Health provides the most advanced specialty and quaternary services for the diverse and changing healthcare needs of southern California communities. Today, UCI Health serves a critical role across the region, delivering more than 1.4 million patient encounters each year across surgeries, trauma care, inpatient, emergency and outpatient services. In 2025, the health system provided nearly $900 million in charity and uncompensated care.

This organizational realignment enables UCI Health to sustainably operate at scale, will unify functions, and direct resources to where the community needs them most – whether that’s primary care access, surgical services, specialty care, or advanced treatment options.

The restructure will combine positions, align roles with evolving system needs, and create future opportunities for our co-workers. While UCI Health will continue to create and fill roles in needed areas, approximately 1 percent of our health system’s workforce will be impacted by layoff as a result of the restructuring. Affected co-workers will receive comprehensive financial support, job placement services, and priority consideration for open positions across UCI Health as part of the organization’s realignment.

“We approach this moment with respect and care, feeling deeply grateful for our co-workers’ vital contributions to our community and those we serve," Chad Lefteris, President and CEO of UCI Health, said. "We recognize that change impacts all of our co-workers. But this realignment is vital to ensuring our ability to continue meeting the evolving needs of the communities we serve."

Like other healthcare systems across California and nationally, UCI Health faces a variety of headwinds, including shifts in federal funding, changes to insurance reimbursements, and evolving patterns in how patients access care. This restructuring adapts UCI Health’s operations to meet the needs of the 5.6 million people it serves across southern California. By aligning operations with community demand patterns and healthcare delivery trends, UCI Health ensures it can sustainably provide the right care, in the right setting, at the right time.