Hunter
09/08/21
The State Board of Regents has unanimously approved a $395 million facility to be constructed in North Liberty for expansion of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
The facility struggled but eventually succeeded in getting approval from the State health Facilities Council allowed the project to go forward. They granted the certificate of need for the $230 million health care facility.
That portion of the overall project will feature up to 48 beds, 21 emergency rooms, 16 operating rooms, labs, a pharmacy and other amenities, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
After getting approval from the state, the UIHC announced the second portion of the project, which includes a 169,000 square foot building for outpatient clinics, faculty offices, and space for education and research. That puts the total project cost at $395 million.
The Gazette reports regent Nancy Boettger expressed concerns that the new project might encounter the same cost overruns, delays and mismanagement that the construction of the Stead Family Children’s Hospital suffered.
UIHC Chief Executive Officer Suresh Gunasekaran told the Regents that the big difference in this project is that while the UIHC took on the responsibility of signing up contractors and putting together the final product, the North Liberty facility construction will be overseen by a “construction manager at-risk,” an outside party responsible for the total scope and management of the project. Construction will also be done on a greenspace, easier than the urban space the Children’s Hospital was built on.
The project will be paid for with hospital revenue bonds, gifts, and building usage funds.