UI Hospitals and Clinics to open a new Short Stay Unit

UI Hospitals and Clinics will open the unit in April 2023 to make more inpatient beds available.

Grace Kreber

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is seen on April 2, 2022.

Natalie Miller, News Reporter
February 15, 2023

The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics will be opening a new Short Stay Unit in April. 

According to a UIHC presentation for the state Board of Regents, the new unit will include 30 private observation rooms on the lower level of the John Colloton Pavilion for patients that require a 24-48 hour hospital stay. 

UIHC will give the presentation to the Regents at its upcoming meeting on Feb. 22.

RELATED: New UIHC facility to increase health care access to residents in Southeast Iowa City

Currently, those with an estimated 24-48 hour stay are occupying inpatient beds. The presentation states that the new unit is designed to open up beds for patients that require a longer hospital stay. 

The Short Stay Unit’s population will hold patients with medical and surgical concerns that include:

  • Chest pain
  • Abdominal pain
  • Back pain
  • Fainting
  • Procedural recovery 

Additionally, the presentation states that UIHC has three goals in the opening of the Short Stay Unit including helping decompress patients who are boarding in the hospital’s emergency department, creating inpatient bed capacity for higher acuity patients, and designing a team-based care model focused on timely treatment and discharge to home.