The University of California—Irvine (UCI) broke ground on a massive $1.3 billion medical complex Nov. 16, marking the second full-scale hospital that UCI Health will have under its belt. The complex, which was approved in January by the UC Board of Regents, will have a 144-bed, 350,000 square-foot acute care hospital with an emergency room, which will connect the UCI Health network throughout Orange County. “UCI Health is building the next chapter of healthcare in Orange County,” UCI Health CEO Chad. T. Lefteris said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “The new UCI Medical Center–Irvine will be a full-service academic medical complex bringing a broad range of the most advanced healthcare services to coastal and southern Orange County, including access to the hundreds of clinical trials underway at UCI Health.” Apart from the acute care hospital, the complex will also feature a 225,000 square foot comprehensive cancer center and ambulatory building, which …