The state Board of Regents approved a request for emergency contracting on the windows of the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The request follows previous funding to improve the exterior of the building.

The authorization allocated $771,516 from the University Hospital Building Usage Funds to move forward with the project.

The request comes after some of the hospital’s windows have experienced some delamination. The UI will need to install 3M safety film, which helps hold broken glass in place to prevent flying shards of glass harming people or property, to 77 windows. According to regents’ documents, the request was “out of an abundance of caution.”

The installation by Marv’s Glass began in October 2021. The installation is part of the UI’s “UIHC-Replace Windows” project.

The UI requested $10 to $15 million to replace the fourth and fifth floor windows on the building. The facility is four years old, as previously reported by The Daily Iowan.

“This is a ratification for an action in October by the executive director of the board,” Rod Lehnertz, senior vice president for Finance and Operations told the regents at the meeting on Wednesday.

Along with the approval of the emergency contracting authorization, the regents also approved the request for board ratification of the use of contract management at Risk Delivery Method for the UIHC Centralized Emergency Power Generation Facility expansion project.

“The board granted permission to proceed with project planning for this project in July at the July meeting,” Lehnertz said. “This would be a request for ratification of executive director Braun’s actions in September.”

The UI also pulled the request to proceed with project planning for the $7-9 million Gymnastics and Spirit Squad Training Center Construct Building project off the meeting agenda, and will bring it back at a later date.

Eleanor Hildebrandt contributed to this report.