UC Irvine Health Building 3

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a need at UCI Health for additional med-surge beds and ED exam rooms, both of which continue to be in high demand. UCI Health contracted LPA to assist in their planning for future pandemics in order to be of best service to the community.

The project replaces an existing psychiatric clinic space with a new Med-Surg Nursing Unit that will increase inpatient bed capacity by 41 beds to meet the current COVID-19 pandemic and future demands, by converting the existing Building 3, third floor, B occupancy, Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic into an I-2 Occupancy Telemetry and Medical Surgery Nursing Unit.

Multi-Phased Project
Building 3 was originally designed as an Inpatient Neuropsychiatric Facility. UCI Health assessed this was no longer the best use for this building since the community’s neuropsychiatric patient population has been reduced dramatically and the building has been slowly converting to other uses. LPA’s conversion of the third floor is the first of three phases in collaboration with UCI Health on Building 3.

Fast-Tracked Process
This was a collaborative process, where LPA’s design team collocated on-site to provide design services in an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) model. Using LEAN methodologies of regular in-person BIG ROOM meetings, the team was able to achieve an unprecedented deliverable schedule. The original schedule for the project was two years and it was reduced to ten months by working closely with HCAi, UCI Health, Design and Construction Teams.

Operations During COVID-19
This project had added complexity due to LPA’s design team working in-person during COVID-19 to create surge space for patients. LPA worked in tandem with the GC, HCAi and UC Irvine Health in simultaneous demo, design and project approval. LPA additionally worked with HCAi to design, build, permit and inspect concurrently for emergency need to address patient volume.