Construction update: Improvements to better serve Iowans at university campus

Improvements, both big and small, are also happening in a number of clinical care areas inside the medical center, and there are investments being made to research and education spaces in Carver College of Medicine.  

“Every facility project underway is an investment in the future of health care for Iowans, whether it is in support of a clinical care area, research lab, or training future health care providers,” says Denise Jamieson MD, MPH, UI vice president for medical affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean of the Carver College of Medicine. “Our world-class faculty, researchers, students, and staff are changing medicine and changing lives every day. We need modern facilities that reflect the high-caliber of our team members, allowing them to do their best work in service of our mission.” 

UI Health Care serves the entire state and often operates at peak capacity due to the high demand for its lifesaving and life-changing care – put simply, university campus is out of space. Additionally, many of the buildings are outdated and in significant need of modernization to support the academic health system’s tripartite mission of education, research, and patient care. 

“There are thousands of Iowans who travel to university campus for specialty care each year. We are committed to providing these patients with increased access to high-quality care in state-of-the-art facilities,” says Brad Haws MBA, chief executive officer of the clinical enterprise and associate vice president of UI Health Care. 

Dozens of construction projects are taking place across the clinical, research, and education spaces at university campus, but here is an overview of a handful of some of the largest projects underway. 

A renovation of the neurology clinic will be completed this summer, including a modernization of the outpatient area, addition of new clinic rooms, and expanded support spaces.  

The newly renovated space will be more accessible with improved wheelchair access for patients with a broad spectrum of disorders affecting the nervous system and brain. 

The Emergency Department (ED) on university campus is one of the busiest in the state. In order to meet the state’s growing demand for highly complex emergency and trauma care, UI Health Care is expanding its emergency care services at university campus. 

The ED expansion project includes the addition of more than a dozen treatment rooms, a new triage area, as well as multifunctional spaces that can—among other things—support the team’s abilities for assessing and treating those in crisis. Once complete, the Emergency Department will have almost 60 beds.  

To accommodate the state’s growing need for maternal care and specialized newborn care, UI Health Care is working to relocate and expand its NICU to Level 7 and Level 8 of Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which were originally shell space when the hospital was built in 2017. Each floor will have 28 patient rooms as well as support spaces, family waiting spaces, and provider work rooms.  

Construction on the Level 8 expansion begins this spring, and the Level 7 expansion is on track for completion by the end of the year.  

UI Health Care’s Burn Treatment Center is currently undergoing a major renovation. Burn patients are unique in that they need specialized care for a severe form of trauma, and our burn unit is the only one in Iowa officially verified by the American Burn Association to care for both adults and children.

The project—slated for completion by summer 2026—will modernize the center’s aging inpatient area with new hydrotherapy rooms, patient rooms, support spaces, and staff workrooms. 

In addition to the extensive improvements being made to clinical care areas at university campus, UI Health Care is also investing in research and education spaces. Here are a handful of some of the more substantial renovations being made to Carver College of Medicine buildings: 

Enabling projects for patient care tower near completion 

The university will complete the following projects in the coming year: 

Once these projects are complete, it will make space on university campus for the future patient care tower. By the end of the year, the campus will look significantly different with the demolition of several structures, including Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center and Parking Ramp 1, to make space for initial site preparation.

Read more: In photos: Updates to 'enabling' projects to transform our university campus

Early visions of a state-of-the-art cancer research building 

Iowa has one of the fastest-growing rates of new cancers in the country, and cancer is a priority focus area for the university. The university received approval from the Iowa Board of Regents to begin early-stage planning of a new, state-of-the-art cancer-focused research facility in fall 2024. This project will foster interdisciplinary collaboration between the university’s multiple health-related colleges to advance life-saving cancer research that will impact future generations of Iowans. 

Read more: UI begins planning new health sciences research building

Renovations to backfill spaces 

In February, the Iowa Board of Regents approved planning for renovations to the space that will be vacated on university campus once the North Liberty campus opens Apr. 28, 2025.  

The first projects slated for planning under this umbrella approval are the following: 

The lab and recovery rooms serving UI Health Care’s main operating rooms are currently constrained and need to be enlarged and upgraded to continue meeting patient care needs. When orthopedics moves to North Liberty, it will free up space to increase the size of the prep and recovery areas, providing approximately 57 private recovery rooms to serve UI Health Care’s operating rooms.  

Similar to the perioperative recovery expansion project, there is an opportunity to renovate the surgical pathology lab space when orthopedics moves to North Liberty. The Grossing Lab needs improved mechanical infrastructure and a modified lab layout to improve efficiency and safety, as well as meet the needs of future operating room expansion. 

UI Health Care is currently looking for a professional design firm to begin the design and budget process for these projects. The intent is to begin construction in 2026, pending budget approval by the Iowa Board of Regents.  

“These projects are the first of many that will happen in the coming years as we work to improve patient access to the right care, at the right time, at the right place,” says Haws. “As we move services to new locations and space becomes available on university campus, we need to be intentional about what we decide to put in these backfill spaces so that we can best fulfill our mission for years to come. We continue to explore solutions that address the space needs of our growing system to better serve our patients.” 

Read more: Q&A with Brad Haws: Finding space for services in a growing system