South Bay Hospital CEO Sharon Roush addressed 75 community representatives and contractor/hospital employees who gathered Feb. 23 to celebrate completion of the first phase of the $30-million expansion and renovation project. Bill Hodges photos.
South Bay Hospital and general contractor, Charles Perry Partners Inc., or CPPI, gathered their subcontractors and community representatives at the construction site on Feb. 23 to celebrate the beginning of the next phase of the hospital’s new ICU/PCU tower construction.
“This is a milestone for us as we move toward a more patient- and family-friendly aesthetic, along with our continued focus on quality care,” said CEO Sharon Roush. “This latest phase in our expansion project is exciting, and we want to take time out to celebrate with our contractors, our employees and our community.”
Roush said they were excited that completion of the new tower is in sight and they were meeting with architects now about renovation of the existing facility. She invited each attendee to sign the wall of an elevator shaft of the new tower.
CPPI Project Manager Jody McCoy explained some details about the $30-million expansion that started last June. He said the first phase involved the structure, which is about 30 percent of the project. With that finished, the project will go quickly as interior prefabricated units are put in place. He estimated a finish date of September this year.
A tree marking the structure’s highest point is in keeping with a 1,000-year-old “topping-out” tradition.
The event included a “topping-out” ceremony, which traditionally marks the point when the structure’s highest element is hoisted into place, a practice that started in Scandinavia over 1,000 years ago when structures were primarily wood. Before the first tree was cut, builders would ask the forest to grant use of a tree for construction of their home. When the building was complete, builders would set atop the roof the topmost leafy branch of that first tree to appease the tree-dwelling spirits of those ancestors that had been rendered homeless and to convince them of their sincere appreciation. It was hoped that those living or working in the dwelling would flourish and have good fortune.
Project Manager McCoy said that CPPI adopted the tradition in 1968. Since this structure is concrete, they improvised and placed an 8-foot tree atop the structure.
The hospital’s renovation and expansion project will include a new 30,900-square-foot Patient Tower and renovation and refurbishing of public areas and existing patient care units. The expansion increases the hospital’s bed total from 112 to 138 and has been designed to accommodate future expansion of two floors for an additional 48 beds. The new Patient Tower will feature all-private rooms and include a 14-bed Progressive Care service and 12 additional Intensive Care beds.
South Bay Hospital is part HCA West Florida, a network of 16 hospitals, surgery centers and other specialized health services.
