Topping Out of Patient Tower Is a Signature Moment

Story by Adventist HealthCare Staff

Exciting progress continues on the new patient tower at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center. A major construction milestone occurred in late January, when a crane placed the building’s final steel beam during a topping out ceremony. Hospital team members marked the occasion in the truest sense: More than 350 employees, physicians and donors signed the beam in the days before the event. Among them were three Shady Grove Medical Center team members who have served the hospital since its opening in December 1979. Leaders from the hospital and the health system watched as crews set the beam into place. The signed beam will remain visible to all those who look skyward near the elevator in the completed tower.

As spring began, construction crews started wrapping the tower’s steel structure with precast walls, marking a significant transformation of the building’s site from rendering to reality.

Additionally, partners from Turner Construction Co. worked diligently to connect the tower to the existing hospital building. The process included delicately chipping away old bricks by hand and performing concrete work to establish seamless connections between floors.

Other progress included the completion of utility work and the installation of stairwells.

Throughout construction, crews and healthcare team members are ensuring minimal noise and impact on patients.