Iowa Children’s Hospital Construction on Schedule

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa (UI) officials announced earlier this month that the $292 million UI Children’s Hospital remains on track for a late summer 2016 opening, despite challenging winter weather and a dearth of skilled laborers in the area. Word on whether or not the project will be completed under budget will become available later this month.

Scott Turner, executive director of the UI Children’s Hospital, told the state’s Board of Regents recently that the 14-story project (two floors below ground, 14 above) has progressed from design into its transitional and operational phase, according to the Iowa Press-Citizen. The hospital is also in the process of identifying which staff will be moving into the new facility from the existing hospital, as well as how many new employees — from nurses to maintenance staff — the 134-bed hospital will require.

Portions of the hospital’s ground through sixth floors will align with those of existing buildings. Perfecting this alignment required additional time and expense during the design process to ensure “seamless transitions” between sensitive areas such as the neo-natal intensive care unit and operating rooms, Turner told the Iowa Press-Citizen.

The hospital, which was carefully designed to promote healing, offers an abundance of natural light introduced via large windows in patient-occupied areas, as well as strategically positioned light wells. Massive ground floor-to-ceiling windows are also included in the design, illuminating a café, recreation area and library. Those on the upper floors will even be able to enjoy a view into the nearby Kinnick Stadium, home to the university’s football team, the Hawkeyes. Work on the facility’s interior will likely begin next month after the building’s exterior is sealed.

Several features were also integrated to ensure both physical and environmental safety for users. For example, despite the fact that the community lies in an area that regularly experiences tornadoes, the design ensures that patients will remain safe in the event of severe weather thanks to windows that can withstand considerable force. Additionally, the hospital will include a special, environmentally secure unit for separating contagious patients from the rest of the population.

Construction on the UI Children’s Hospital, which will include 480,000 square feet of new construction and a more than 56,000-square-foot renovation, began in fall 2012. The $292 million hospital is being funding through a combination of bonds, patient revenue and private gifts.

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$217 Million Children’s Hospital Approved in Iowa

URBANDALE, Iowa — The Board of Regents have approved a $271 million Children’s Hospital project, part of a $1.1 billion long-term facilities plan for University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

The Children’s Hospital will be 371,600 square feet in new construction and 56,250 square feet in renovated space for a total of 427,850 square feet.

The university first presented the idea of a new Children’s Hospital and a corresponding long-term building plan to the regents in 2008 and received approval. But the plans were put on hold as the recession affected hospital revenues.

Revenues have rebounded, officials said, and the long-term facilities plan has been shifted to cover 2011 to 2020. In addition to the new Children’s Hospital tower, the project will convert all patient rooms to private rooms, increase operating room space, improve parking and wayfinding and move many clinics and ambulatory care facilities off-site to create more space at the main hospital campus.

The list also includes plans for a second, $400 million new patient beds tower to be built at on the hospital campus between 2016 and 2020. The Children’s Hospital will accommodate 140 replacement and new acute and intensive care pediatric beds. Another 55 pediatric beds will continue in UI Hospital’s existing Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which will be physically linked to 28 additional NICU beds in the new Children’s Hospital.

Total pediatric inpatient admissions have grown by nearly 20 percent over the past five years, officials said.

UI leaders expect to raise $50 million privately for the project, with naming opportunities available. The tower is scheduled for completion in 2015.

The regents next week will also consider approval to proceed with planning on two other UI Hospitals projects: a $14.6 million Family Medicine Center at UI’s Hawkeye Campus and a $6 million community-based Primary Care Clinic in North Liberty.

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Iowa Children’s Hospital Construction on Schedule

$217 Million Children’s Hospital Approved in Iowa