New hospital powered by robust emergency backup system
All-electric UCI Health — Irvine prepared to continue operations during power outages
June 01, 2023
Joe Brothman, director of facilities and general services at UCI Health.
IN THE NEWS: UCI Health — Irvine is a first-of-its-kind all-electric medical campus due for completion in 2025. The highly anticipated 1.2 million-square-foot campus will be powered by a central utility plant that uses sustainably produced electricity.
However, blackouts and earthquakes can knock out power at any time.
Joe Brothman, director of facilities and 
general services at UCI Health, recently joined the Air Talk podcast to discuss the new hospital, including how it will continue to meet energy demands in the event of a loss of power.
This new campus, because we’re designing it as an all-electric hospital, is extremely energy efficient. When the power goes out and the emergency generators have to come on ... that system is going to be powering our entire hospital. Everything from inpatient to office space is going to have that power coverage. It’s an extremely robust power system. We’re going to have more power than needed in a blackout situation.
About UCI Health — Irvine
UCI Health — Irvine, a new medical complex under construction at the north end of the UC Irvine campus, will bring unparalleled expertise and the finest evidence-based care that only an academic medical system can offer to the communities of coastal and south Orange County.
As part of UCI Health — which includes the flagship UCI Medical Center in Orange, Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and multiple outpatient care locations — the new 1.2 million-square-foot campus will offer key clinical programs in oncology, digestive health, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics and spine surgery.
The nation’s first medical center powered by an all-electric central utilities plant, UCI Health — Irvine will be home to:
- The Joe C. Wen & Family UCI Health Center for Advanced Care, a five-story, 168,000-square-foot medical facility offering the full range of multidisciplinary specialty care for children and adults under a single roof, urgent care services, the Center for Children’s Health and the UCI Health Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders — Opening spring 2024
- The Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building, a five-story, 225,000-square-foot tower with 36 private exam rooms, numerous infusion bays and operating rooms — Opening 2024
- A seven-story, 350,000-square-foot, acute care hospital with 144 inpatient beds, 10 operating suites and a 24-hour emergency department with 20 treatment rooms — Opening 2025
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