‘Topping Out’ Ceremony Held at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital

6/6/2017

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (June 7, 2017) – A crowd of more than 150 gathered outside Wilkes-Barre General Hospital Thursday morning for a “topping out” ceremony as the last steel beam was hoisted into the air and placed atop the framework that will house the hospital’s new critical care units.

The placement of the beam -- marked with hundreds of signatures of physicians, employees and guests – is the final step in the creation of the framework for the hospital’s nearly $40 million expansion project. Upon completion next year, the construction project will increase the hospital’s capacity for critical care.

In keeping with the time-honored tradition of a “topping out” in commercial steel construction, a Christmas tree was placed atop the framework. Site superintendent Andy Harrison, of J.E. Dunn Construction Co., project manager, said the tree signifies the safe completion of the framing of the structure and a wish for continued good luck for the future of the building project and its eventual occupants.

The hospital’s expansion project includes the construction of an additional floor on the existing three-story Heart & Vascular Institute. Currently the emergency department is on the ground floor and the Heart & Vascular Institute is housed on the second floor. An existing third floor is an empty, unused shell that will be converted into patient rooms. The additional fourth floor will also be converted into patient rooms, with the third and fourth floors accommodating a total of 34 ICU beds.

A “mechanical penthouse” to house all equipment and machinery will be built above the fourth floor and a floor with a helipad and helicopter access will be constructed on the top of the tower.

Moving the ICU departments into the new building will allow for the conversion of the majority of the hospital’s semi-private rooms to private rooms. The project also calls for renovations to about 200 existing patient rooms.

Bob Stiekes, chief operating officer of Commonwealth Health Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, welcomed the guests and acknowledged the construction workers for their efforts throughout the winter months and thanked the physicians, staff, patients, visitors and community for their patience during the construction.