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The 144-bed acute care hospital for UCI Health — Irvine is shown under construction. (Credit: Scott Smeltzer / Daily Pilot)

IN THE NEWS: UCI Health has made the challenge of addressing climate change one of its top priorities. In 2025, another sustainability milestone will be achieved when UCI Health — Irvine opens the nation’s first all-electric hospital.

Joe Brothman, director of facilities and general services, spoke to the Daily Pilot about the project last week.

Since hospitals and operating rooms typically run 24 hours a day, they consume massive amounts of energy and resources. Addressing this was imperative for Brothman, his team, as well as UCI Health and University of California leadership.

“If our operations are contributing to negative health externalities, especially disproportionately in underserved populations that have historically had negative health effects because of energy, we’re not fulfilling our mission,” he said.

The nation’s first all-electric, carbon-neutral medical center, UCI Health — Irvine will be home to: