North Liberty campus preview: Surgical services
For orthopedic surgery patients, new campus will bring greater access, convenience
Providing a seamless experience for orthopedics patients—whether it’s walk-in, outpatient, short-stay recovery, or inpatient care—will be key to the University of Iowa Health Care medical campus in North Liberty.
For patients needing orthopedic surgery, the North Liberty location will offer greater access and convenience, notes J. Lawrence Marsh, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation.
“As Iowa’s population ages, demand for orthopedic surgery and expertise—in joint replacement, spine, and other areas—will continue to grow, as will the need for post-surgery care and follow-up,” Marsh says. “What’s exciting about the North Liberty campus is that our services will be all under one roof—from clinic visits to surgical services to post-surgery rehab, plus advanced imaging, pharmacy, durable medical equipment, and related services. There’s been lot of coordination and planning—and much more to do—but keeping the patient perspective in mind has guided a lot of our decision-making.”
The North Liberty campus, scheduled to open in spring 2025, will feature a three-level hospital and five-level medical office building.
Operating and procedure rooms
Surgery services on the second level of the hospital will include:
Most orthopedic surgeries will be performed at the North Liberty location. Some pediatric patients, ages 12 and older, may have orthopedic surgeries at the North Liberty campus.
The two procedure rooms will be used for procedures that can be done under local anesthesia but do not require an operating room—carpal tunnel release procedures, trigger finger treatments, or lumbar injections, for example.
Inpatient and postoperative care
The third level of the hospital includes the inpatient unit, which comprises 36 hospital beds. The proximity of the ORs to the inpatient care areas will make the post-surgery transfer of patients to their rooms convenient for staff and patients.
Each inpatient room provides private accommodations and will have technology that supports telehealth consultations with specialists at the university campus. For example, a UI Health Care cardiologist can conduct a telehealth visit with a patient with atrial fibrillation to assist the North Liberty care team in managing the patient.
