Board of Regents unanimously approves new UIHC North Liberty healthcare facility – kwwl.com
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (KWWL) — In an 8-0 vote, the Iowa Board of Regents unanimously approved a new $395 million, 469,000 square-foot healthcare facility in North Liberty on Tuesday.
The facility will be built on a 60-acre site along Forevergreen Road. The initial budget was for $230 million, for a 300,000 square-foot hospital, but increased to $395 million with the addition of a second building, a 169,000 square-foot academic, research and clinics building.
The facility will be paid for through UIHC revenue bonds, building usage funds and donations.
The Iowa State Health Facilities Council approved a Certificate of Need for the hospital last week. This was UIHC’s second time seeking approval for the project; it was denied 3-2 in February. Hospital officials say this time their application better explained their strategic plan to continue functioning as a teaching, research and multilevel care facility.
UIHC President Suresh Gunasekaran says the hospital will function as an extension of their main campus, allowing them to offer specialized care and reduce wait times on the main campus.
Several local hospitals like Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, Mercy Iowa City, Virginia Gay Hospital in Vinton, Jones Medical Center in Anamosa, and more, all opposed the hospital. They were concerned with losing business, possible increases in health care costs as competition decreases, and said this would duplicate services already offered in the region.
The council disagreed, saying it would help the state solve its issues with lack of providers and more tertiary care. In Tuesday’s Board of Regents vote, President Mike Richards and University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson noted this facility is for the state.
“We’re doing this for the people of the state of Iowa. I think that should be remembered,” Richards said. “We take care of people from every walk of life in the state and this will be their hospital.”
“This is really for the state of Iowa. We are turning away too many transfer patients right now,” Wilson said. “We’ve got much, much work to be done to help ensure the health and safety of our populous across the state and this will allow us to do that.”
Construction is expected to begin later this year with an estimated completion in the spring or summer of 2025.
The full Board of Regents meeting can be found here: