Colleagues,

I want to start by expressing my gratitude and appreciation for your continued commitment to our patients and teams. The last three years have changed a lot in health care, but one thing we know continues to be true is that Iowans need us.

Campus master plan

In January 2022, the University of Iowa shared plans for campus modernizations to support our future, including exciting plans about our health care campus. These projects will be transformative for our patients and staff, and we are thankful for the support of our university partners and the Iowa Board of Regents in these efforts.

Over the last year, we’ve announced several construction projects in connection with the university’s campus master plan to modernize the delivery of education and patient care, including a new parking ramp north of the West Campus Transportation Center within Lot 43-Kinnick (Hawkeye Ramp) and a new inpatient tower.

First big enabling projects

Through our collaborative partnership with our Parking and Transportation team, the first big enabling project impacting the health care campus will be the construction for the new Hawkeye Ramp, expected to begin on June 1, which will offer about 985 parking spaces primarily for faculty and staff. When the new ramp is complete in 2025, Hospital Parking Ramp 1 will be removed to make way for the new inpatient tower to be built in its space.

More details on parking changes to come

We are working closely with Parking and Transportation to manage the impact of the construction on the existing parking for our patients and employees as much as possible until this critical project is completed. And yet, we recognize this enabling project will bring disruptive changes to parking over the next two years. We ask for your patience as we begin our transformative journey for our patients, faculty, staff, and students.

We know changes to commutes and parking can be difficult. Many solutions have been explored over the past year and more information will be shared next week as details are finalized. We appreciate your support as we move forward on these projects that will benefit our patients, faculty, staff, and students.

Kimberly D. Hunter, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC
Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Nurse Executive, UI Hospitals & Clinics
Interim Associate Vice President, UI Health Care