Editor’s Note: The following University of Iowa projects were approved during the Board of Regents meeting on Thursday, Feb. 26.
The University of Iowa has rolled out a variety of projects totaling more than $28 million to modernize radiology and sleep services and upgrade a research facility.
The most significant project is a $12.2 million endeavor to place the UI Health Care’s upgrade the radiology and imaging department at its downtown facility. The UI hopes to centralize and merge its sleep labs in Coralville for roughly $5 million, while renovations to a building in the College of Medicine for $11 million should enhance anatomy and cell biology research.
The three projects will be considered at the February Iowa Board of Regents meeting on Thursday, Feb. 26 at the Levitt Center of the UI campus.
Modernizing UI Healthcare’s downtown radiology department
UI Health Care will use money from its earnings and equity fund to upgrade and move radiology equipment to its downtown campus, “(improving) access and quality of care.” The UI secured ownership of the former Mercy hospital in a 2024 auction. The university has steadily been upgrading and “modernizing” the facility over the last two years,
UI Health Care says the CT (computed tomography) and nuclear medicine equipment at the downtown facility is “at the end of its lifespan and needs to be replaced.”
The project will replace two CT and two nuclear medicine machines, moving patient waiting areas for “better patient flow.” Construction will also create space for two more CT units, a cardiac camera. Construction of the radiology unit will begin in the spring of 2028.
Centralized sleep lab to move to Coralville
UI Health Care wants to combine a pair of sleep labs into a central clinic in Coralville.
Currently, UIHC sleep services are offered at the downtown medical campus and the Center for Disabilities and Development, which is scheduled to be razed in 2027. UIHC would relocate the sleep labs into a shell space at 2769 Heartland Dr., near Costco.
The $4.9 million project will include 10 sleep lab testing rooms and will be funded by UI Health Care earnings and equity.
Proposed UI Bowen Science Building renovation to support research
The University of Iowa will also seek approval from the Iowa Board of Regents to upgrade 19,000 square feet of old labs and office space on the first floor of the Bowen Science Building, part of the Carver College of Medicine. The $11 million project aims to support the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology’s mission of research and education at a national and global level.
Funded by Carver College of Medicine gifts and earnings, the project should eliminate $2 million in deferred maintenance costs.
The renovations will “accommodate both present and future research needs” by creating “flexible” laboratory space, while also adding a potential classroom.
Construction will take place in 2027 and will also feature upgrades to roughly 2,500 square feet of corridor and lobby space.
Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @rishjessica_
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: UI seeks $28M to enhance research, modernize radiology and sleep labs
Reporting by Jessica Rish, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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