Each of the hospital’s 52 private rooms includes a bathroom, shower and sitting area for family members and visitors. | Photo Credit: UCI Health
- UCI Health — Irvine Rehabilitation Hospital is scheduled to begin welcoming patients at the end of July.
- The four-story, 70,000-square-foot facility includes 52 private rooms and specialized services for brain and spinal cord injuries.
- Therapy spaces include a large rehabilitation gym, simulated home environments, a mock kitchen, a simulated car and an outdoor mobility courtyard.
- The hospital is a joint venture between UCI Health and Lifepoint Rehabilitation and will also support clinical research
IRVINE, Calif. — UCI Health has marked the approaching opening of its new 52-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Irvine, Calif., with a ribbon-cutting event attended by more than 150 employees and community members.
The 70,000-square-foot UCI Health — Irvine Rehabilitation Hospital is expected to open by the end of July. Located less than two miles from UCI Health — Irvine, the freestanding facility is designed to extend the health system’s continuum of care for patients recovering from stroke, traumatic injury, complex surgery and other serious conditions.
The four-story hospital is a joint venture between UCI Health and Lifepoint Rehabilitation. It includes a specialized brain and spinal cord injury unit, an independent living suite and technology intended to help patients practice daily activities before returning home.
“Access to specialized care for patients recovering from stroke, traumatic injury, complex surgery and more in this hospital strengthens the continuum of care across all of the UCI Health system, providing a seamless transition from acute care to rehabilitation, and then to home.” said UCI Health President and CEO Chad T. Lefteris, according to an article from UCI Health.
Each of the hospital’s 52 private rooms includes a bathroom, shower and sitting area for family members and visitors. The facility also has small-group recreation spaces, a large dining area with outdoor seating and a dedicated brain injury unit with space for rehabilitation therapies.
A rehabilitation gym occupies much of the fourth floor and includes a simulated car and mock kitchen. An outdoor courtyard on the same floor features walking paths with different surfaces, a garden and a small putting green, giving patients opportunities to practice mobility in varied environments.
“It was about two and a half years ago that many of us were here. It was a patch of dirt and we had shovels in our hands to celebrate the groundbreaking,” said Dr. Jay Han, Medical Director of the UCI Health rehabilitation program, in a statement from UCI Health. “And here we are, standing beside a brand-new, four-story, state-of-the-art rehabilitation building right here in Irvine, California. It’s just amazing. I’m very proud of everyone today.”
UCI Health also plans to use the hospital as a setting for clinical research. Physicians and other healthcare professionals will study emerging rehabilitation technologies and therapies, while eligible patients with conditions including stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, severe burns, polytrauma and amputations may have opportunities to participate in research.
The new hospital will be part of UCI Health, Orange County’s only academic health system.