J. Lawrence Marsh, MD
Chair of the UI Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation
6 months of serving patients at the North Liberty campus
Patients from all over Iowa and across the country have flocked to UI Health Care’s North Liberty campus for world-class orthopedic care.
After nearly five years of thoughtful planning, design, and construction, University of Iowa Health Care opened the doors to the beautiful new North Liberty campus on April 28, 2025.
Six months later, the campus is surpassing expectations, becoming an anchor for the growing community and drawing patients from across the state and the country to receive care at the state-of-the-art campus.
A growing demand for convenient access to world-class care
UI Health Care’s North Liberty campus, which was originally designed for future growth with built in shell space, is seeing more patients and higher acuity cases than anticipated, creating a need to expand facilities. In the past six months, the team at North Liberty has served 55,000 patients in its clinics, admitted more than 1,500 patients, and performed more than 4,000 operations. The campus has accommodated more than 50,000 imaging visits, more than 15,000 physical and occupational therapy visits, and more than 6,500 emergency department (ED) visits.
“The number of patients we are seeing at North Liberty campus is confirmation that Iowans want and need better, more convenient access to world-class care,” says Denise Jamieson, MD, MPH, UI vice president for medical affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean of the Carver College of Medicine. “The good news is that our success at North Liberty campus also supports our broader system of care, allowing us to create more integrated, efficient, and patient-focused environments across all our locations.”
When the North Liberty campus opened, UI Health Care was able to relocate orthopedic specialty services to the new location, which also created space on the university campus.
“By completing this foundational work and investing in important infrastructure at the downtown and university campuses, UI Health Care is better positioned to meet specific patient needs in the most appropriate settings,” says Bradley Haws, MBA, chief executive officer of the clinical enterprise and associate vice president of UI Health Care.
Six months of milestones (April 28 - October 28)
- Admissions: 1,500+
- Operating room cases: 4,000+
- Rehabilitation therapy visits: 15,000+
- Radiology visits: 50,000+
- Emergency Department visits: 6,500+
- Orthopedics clinic visits: 55,000+
- Prescription fill requests: 32,000+
Community members explore the North Liberty campus during an open house before its opening in April 2025.
Amy O’Deen, MHA, BSN, FACHE, chief administrative officer for the North Liberty campus, greets one of the medical center’s first patients.
Patient-centered care
Beyond the numbers, the most meaningful accomplishments at the North Liberty campus are individual stories from patients who have seen improvements in quality of life or are grateful for their care teams.
“It warms my heart to hear so many positive comments from surgical patients with restored mobility and function, and from patients who receive timely, excellent, and coordinated care in our ED and Orthopedic Injury Walk-in Clinic,” says Amy O’Deen, MHA, BSN, FACHE, chief administrative officer for the North Liberty campus.
Take, for example, Tucker Walden, who was the first patient to receive a full leg cast at the Orthopedic Injury Walk-In Clinic inside the North Liberty hospital. The four-year-old from Muscatine had been evaluated earlier in the day at a UI Health Care clinic in Muscatine, where an X-ray revealed a fracture. He was referred to North Liberty for care. Tucker’s mom, Ally, says the coordinated care between the clinic and the North Liberty campus was provided with “gentleness, empathy, and compassion.”
Patients at North Liberty campus are from:
- 563 communities
- 26 states
In addition to anecdotal patient stories, the North Liberty campus is also seeing high patient satisfaction scores, a more concrete measure of success. O’Deen attributes this to both the careful planning that went into the facility as well as a culture focused on collaboration, excellence, and caring.
"Our intent was to create a convenient, accessible, one-stop shop for all orthopedic service needs, as well as emergency care, 24-hour pharmacy services, advanced diagnostic imaging, and clinical lab services,” O’Deen says. “While the building, grounds, and technology are state-of-the-art and truly amazing, it is the people delivering and supporting our patient care mission who make it so special.”
Four-year-old Tucker Walden, the first patient to receive a full leg cast at the Orthopedic Injury Walk-In Clinic inside North Liberty, poses with a member of his UI Health Care team, Mary Greve, MPAS, MHA, PA-C.
Team members across the campus share this sentiment.
“I always say we treat each other and our patients like family,” says Taylor Eisenberg, BSN, RN, CMSRN, a nurse manager on the inpatient unit at the North Liberty campus. “Every patient we serve deserves to feel supported, safe, and truly cared for. We don’t just talk about compassion and connection — we live it.”
Q&A with North Liberty leaders
We asked leaders of the North Liberty campus to reflect on the past six months since opening:
Amy O’Deen, MHA, BSN, FACHE
Chief administrative officer for the North Liberty campus
Emily Ward, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, CCRN
Associate chief nursing officer for the North Liberty campus
What are your most proud accomplishments since opening day?
Marsh: At the same time we are taking care of patients and their families in this amazing facility, we are training future generations of health care providers and advancing the state of knowledge through cutting-edge research within the walls of this new specialty hospital.
O’Deen: Without question, I am most proud of the dedication, expertise, collaboration, and positive, caring spirit of our team of world-class faculty and staff who have brought our new campus to life.
Ward: We are providing improved access to care and are able to see patients and meet their needs more quickly. I’m also incredibly proud of the culture our solid, professional, and incredibly competent teams have built.
What are some of the biggest challenges you have overcome over the last six months?
Marsh: A lot of work has gone into determining which surgical patients are best cared for in this specialty-focused hospital vs. at the university campus. We have learned that the majority of orthopedic surgical patients can be cared for at the North Liberty campus, with only a small number of cases needing to be sent to the university campus.
O’Deen: Recruiting, onboarding, and orienting all of the staff required to operate our new campus was a huge lift, given pervasive health care workforce shortages across our country, but we accomplished it and are now fully staffed and functioning smoothly.
Ward: Our teams have learned to come together quickly, solve issues, and get back to the work at hand. Collaboration has been key.
What has surprised you most about the past six months?
Marsh: I am impressed at how quickly and smoothly we have been able to transition our large orthopedics practice to this new world of delivering care at the North Liberty campus.
O’Deen: While we made projections about patient volumes, the reality is that our clinic, ED, imaging, and physical therapy visits as well as the number of surgical cases has already far exceeded our estimates. We are seeing patients travel from throughout the Midwest and country to receive expert orthopedic care at our new campus.
Ward: Our ED volumes are almost double what we anticipated. Our team has really embraced the strong patient volumes and have worked to ensure we meet the needs of the community. Additionally, our ED is leading the country with its patient experience scores.