Women’s pavilion at Hoag: What women want

Hoag Hospital Irvine will include a major women’s health expansion on its new Sun Family Campus, anchored by a Women’s Hospital and Outpatient Pavilion that was designed with direct input from local women and clinicians. The women’s pavilion, set to open next year, is part of a broader $1 billion investment supported in part by a $100 million commitment from philanthropists Diana and David Sun.

Dr. Allyson Brooks, the Ginny Ueberroth executive medical director endowed chair of the Hoag Women’s Health Institute, said the facility was planned “with women in mind and with their feedback,” down to details that shape the experience of labor and recovery. “We asked women what they want, what they need and what they’ll need in the future – and then we’re building it,” she says. Hoag also convened providers in a mock-up to figure out the placement of equipment and care teams during emergencies, from hand-washing stations to resuscitation carts.

Building a village

The Women’s Hospital and Outpatient Pavilion will include 24 labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum suites, three operating rooms, 21 antepartum and postpartum rooms, an OB triage space and a 17-bed neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Plans also call for a Maternal Mental Health Program, a Maternal Fetal Health Center, on-site physician offices and a Comprehensive Breast Center offering MRI; stereotactic and diagnostic mammography; biopsy and standard ultrasound; and DEXA bone-density scans.

Brooks says the vision extends beyond one building. “It’s a health care village – welcoming, easy to navigate and designed to avoid the fragmentation women often encounter.”

Planned features include open green spaces and gardens intended to create a calmer experience for patients and families.

Hoag is also launching a new menopause program across its system, including in Irvine. The effort focuses on a stage of life Brooks says has often been overlooked by health systems. A multidisciplinary team of OB/GYNs, menopause-certified providers, wellness experts and mental health professionals will offer personalized, evidence-based care.

“Women will spend roughly a third of their lives in menopause,” Brooks says. “We want them to have informed conversations and access to coordinated care, covering heart, bone, cognitive and musculoskeletal health, not just hormones.” Dedicated visits are planned for in-depth assessments and tailored care plans.

The Sun Family Campus expansion will add six new buildings, 155 inpatient beds, 11 operating rooms and 120,000 square feet of ambulatory facilities in Irvine, bringing comprehensive care closer to residents. Brooks summarizes the goal simply: “We want women and families to feel they belong here, that they’re supported across every life stage – and that they don’t have to travel for the care they deserve.”