Suresh Gunasekaran, UI Hospitals & Clinics CEO, and Debby Zumbach, director of Parking and Transportation and associate VP Business Services, in emails to their staff announced a change to patient and patient visitor parking practices.
Beginning Tuesday, Dec. 3, the hospital will provide outpatients and inpatients a pass for free parking while receiving care on the main Iowa City campus. Free parking was achieved through a partnership between UI Hospitals & Clinics and University of Iowa Parking and Transportation.
“This change in parking is part of our ongoing effort to improve patient satisfaction,” says Gunasekaran. “We want our patients to have the most positive experience possible during their visit. Free parking has also been one of the changes patients ask for most frequently. Our financial performance is such that we can now accommodate this change.”
“Parking and Transportation is committed to finding innovative and bold solutions for the campus,” says Zumbach. “Partnering with UI Hospitals & Clinics to deliver solutions that are better for patients and visitors and reasonable for the university is a win‐win.”
Free parking is already available at all UI Health Care off-site clinics in the Iowa City area, including Scott Boulevard, North Dodge, Sports Medicine, and Iowa River Landing. Changes to the systems and software that manage the parking equipment and the generation of the unique codes will be completed between now and Tuesday, December 3.
All current parking fees, practices, and policies remain in effect until Tues. Dec. 3. Patients and visitors needing more information on the changes should call 319-356-2456 or 6-2456 from a hospital phone. This number is answered 24/7 by either Guest Services Information Desk staff or Telecom during non-business hours.
How it will work
For patients – All patients of UI Hospitals & Clinics receiving medical care will have a Patient Parking Pass. The pass, which has a unique, one‐time‐use barcode, allows patients to exit Hospital Parking Ramps 1, 2, 3, and 4 for free. To access their pass:
For outpatient visits, surgeries, and procedures: Patients can print their Patient Parking Pass from their MyChart account prior to their visit or ask for one when they check in for or check out from their appointment.
For admitted patients: The nursing unit clerk will print the pass upon discharge and provide it to the patient.
The pass is then provided to a parking cashier or scanned at a pay‐in‐lane, self‐serve machine. The one‐time‐use barcode waives the parking fee for one vehicle. This does not include parking for visitors.
Visitor Parking Pass Booklets
Also beginning on Dec. 3, Visitor Parking Pass Booklets will provide a lower cost option for visitors. Each booklet contains five visitor passes and costs $30. Each pass is valid for one prepaid exit. The booklets are especially beneficial to those making multiple extended visits here to see a patient with a prolonged stay.
The Visitor Parking Pass Booklet replaces the current three- and seven-day passes, but the new passes are not required to be used on consecutive days. They may be purchased at:
- UI Hospitals & Clinics Main Information Desk
- Pomerantz Family Pavilion Information Desk
- UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital Information Desk
For faculty and staff
Off‐duty university employees attending their health care appointments will have free parking for the duration of their medical visit. All other hospital parking policies will not change to ensure adequate patient and visitor parking. More information about hospital parking policies can be found at transportation.uiowa.edu/regulations.
University of Iowa Faculty Senate in 2019 completed a review of Finance and Operations and asked the UI Parking and Transportation Department to review the financial burden that parking fees pose to patients. This change acknowledges this Faculty Senate recommendation for the Parking and Transportation Department and UI Hospitals & Clinics to work toward free patient parking.