UVa Health seeks renovation and reprogramming of transitional hospital on Ivy Road

When the University Board of Visitors meets this week for their late summer meeting, one of the items they’ll consider is a planning study to expand the capacity of an existing transitional hospital on Ivy Road.

“The University Hospital has seen a dramatic increase in patient volumes year over year, resulting in a greater need for inpatient resources,” reads the staff report to add a project to the Major Capital Plan.

The UVA Medical Center has been examining its options and is to repurpose space at the Transitional Care Hospital that the report described as “underused” to meet a community need.

“The Medical Center proposes adapting the second and third floors and a portion of the ground floor of TCH for use by Behavioral Health,” the report continues. “With increasing numbers of patients seeking comprehensive psychiatric services, the project will provide inpatient capacity relief at the University Hospital as well as address an acute need in the region.”

The topic will first come up at the Buildings and Grounds Committee on Thursday scheduled to begin around 1:30 p.m.

There is no public idea yet of how much the renovation and reprogramming project will cost. Both the B&G Committee and Finance Committees will review the idea before a full vote by the BOV on Friday.

The transitional happen was planned in the late 2000’s and originally went by the term Long-Term Acute Care Hospital. The original intent was to house patients expected to be hospitalized for 25 days or more.

The B&G Committee will also have a discussion on architectural styles around Grounds, get an update on sustainability efforts at UVA, and get the latest on construction projects. Another item on the agenda is to approve the names for exterior spaces at the future Aggarwal Hall. That’s the replacement of Alumni Hall on Emmet Street.

Fans of historic preservation might be interested in looking at a written report on recent efforts beginning. That begins on page 20 of the meeting packet.

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