January 22, 2021 — The University of California Irvine plans to build a $1 billion hospital campus that will house a 144-bed acute-care facility, ambulatory care center, and cancer center.
The hospital joins the previously approved UCI Health Center for Advanced Care to create the new UCI Medical Center Irvine-Newport, a full-service academic health complex that will provide a broad spectrum of advanced healthcare services.
The new medical center will be the home of the Center for Children’s Health, wellness programs, urgent and emergency care, specialty disciplines, research and clinical trials, and lifesaving surgical and acute care.
Construction is expected to begin later this year with the groundbreaking for the UCI Health Center for Advanced Care, a multicare facility that will house the Center for Children’s Health, medical offices and an urgent care operation.
The hospital will focus on key clinical programs such as oncology, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics and digestive health, and will include a 24-hour emergency department.
The first patients are expected in late 2022 in the UCI Health Center for Advanced Care, pending legal and regulatory approvals, and the hospital is set for completion in 2025.
Costs for the complete project are expected to exceed $1 billion, funded by philanthropic donations, retained earnings and revenue from UCI Health operations.