UCI Health opens inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Irvine

Seventh hospital in the system will serve needs of patients recovering from stroke, traumatic injury

Irvine, Calif. — UCI Health — Irvine Rehabilitation Hospital is now open. The academic health system’s seventh hospital, a 52-bed, 70,000-square-foot freestanding facility, is a joint-venture partnership with Lifepoint Rehabilitation.

The four-story acute rehabilitation hospital features a specialized brain and spinal cord injury unit, an independent living suite where patients can practice daily home activities, as well as the latest therapeutic and robot-assisted technologies designed to help patients return to home life. It is also less than two miles away from UCI Health — Irvine, the 144-bed all-electric acute care hospital that opened in December 2025.

“The UCI Health –– Irvine Rehabilitation Hospital expands access to advanced inpatient rehabilitation care for patients recovering from stroke, traumatic injuries and other serious conditions,” said Chad T. Lefteris, president and CEO of UCI Health. “This location provides Orange County and the region with increased access to high-quality academic-based medical care that leverages the latest research grounded in excellence and innovation.”

Setting the stage for optimal recovery

“As people live longer and chronic disease becomes more common, more patients need specialized and coordinated rehabilitation care after serious illness or injury,” said Dr. Jay J. Han, chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and the medical director of the new UCI Health –– Irvine Rehabilitation Hospital. “Closely coordinated inpatient rehabilitative care is the most effective way to improve a patient’s function and mobility as much as possible so that they can get back to their lives optimally and much more quickly,” said Han.

On-site physicians and healthcare professionals will also conduct research to advance rehabilitative care for patients in the region and beyond. The hospital will also serve as a living laboratory for new and emerging technologies and therapies.

Additional UCI Health –– Irvine Rehabilitation Hospital features for patients and visitors include:

• 52 private rooms with an abundance of natural light, along with a bathroom, shower, and small sitting area for family and visitors
• A state-of-the-art brain injury unit with a dedicated therapy space featuring innovative therapies to enhance recovery
• A large gym that encompasses a majority of the fourth floor, featuring a simulated car and mock kitchen
• A fourth-floor outdoor courtyard, featuring walking paths with varied surfaces, garden and a small putting green
• Small group recreation spaces on the second and third floors

A large dining area with outdoor seating

As part of the only academic health system in Orange County, the new UCI Health –– Irvine Rehabilitation Hospital will not only provide the most advanced rehabilitation care but it will also present opportunities for patients with stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, severe burn, polytrauma, amputations and orthopaedic injuries to participate in clinical research.

The hospital will also house Orange County’s first dedicated inpatient cancer rehabilitation hospital unit, led by cancer rehabilitation physicians, working closely with cancer specialists and dedicated team specializing in supportive oncology therapies. The specialized unit will open at a later date.

This location is the latest inpatient hospital in a system that also includes UCI Health — Orange, the system's flagship academic medical center, and the UCI Health Community Network, established in 2024 with the acquisition of four long-standing community hospitals: UCI Health — Fountain Valley, UCI Health — Lakewood, UCI Health — Los Alamitos and UCI Health — Placentia Linda.

Learn more about the UCI Health — Irvine Rehabilitation Hospital.