Costs of 2 UCLA hospitals growing

Despite expressing concerns about ballooning costs, a UC Regents oversight committee approved UCLA’s request Tuesday for an additional $308 million to complete its long-delayed Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Westwood and a new hospital in Santa Monica.

“What are you doing going forward to make sure ... that you’re not back here again?” UC Regent Joanne Kozberg, chairwoman of the Grounds and Buildings Committee, asked UCLA officials during a public hearing on the projects’ finances.

Interim Chancellor Norman Abrams assured the committee that “the end is in sight” for the Westwood medical center, which has jumped from its initial budget of $597.7 million to $829.3 million.

The opening ceremony for the hospital is now scheduled for June 4, with occupancy expected in the fall.

The 525-bed hospital was originally slated to open in 2005.

The regents were particularly concerned about the Santa Monica-UCLA Orthopaedic Hospital. Though smaller, the 172-bed facility’s cost overruns and delays are larger proportionally. Originally budgeted at $205.8 million, costs have shot up to $377.9 million. It will open in 2009, more than two years later than scheduled.

UCLA officials attributed much of the problem to the rising costs of construction materials like steel and drywall, as well as to last-minute design changes necessary to accommodate advances in medical equipment.

Dr. Gerald Levy, dean of the UCLA School of Medicine, defended the need for the latest equipment, saying that much of the medical school’s research is centered at the hospital. He noted that UCLA is generally recognized as one of the top five medical centers in the country.

“I’m sure we’ve made some mistakes,” he told the regents. “But it will be an amazing facility that will bring the finest research and care to the people of Southern California.”

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mary.engel@latimes.com