A group of hospital workers, administrators and construction workers gathered on the northwest side of Rocky Mountain Medical Center Friday morning, under the cold shadow of the rapidly growing building.

One by one, people found their way to a white beam placed on top of two metal boxes, grabbed a marker and signed before it was hoisted into the air.

Once raised to the top of the hospital expansion, two members of the construction team, five stories high and tied to a cable, guided the beam into place, one of them proudly grasping the American flag that was raised with the beam and shook it as the sun shone through it. the stars and stripes, the crowd below cheering.

The hospital’s 263,000-square-foot expansion was completed Friday morning after nearly a year of work. after the inauguration of the project at the end of 2023. With the skeleton of the building complete, visible on the east Loveland skyline, the construction team will continue the process of finishing the exterior and filling it with medical equipment and everything a hospital wing might need.

“It’s always fun to do these ceremonies, because it’s the last piece of the structure, which is sometimes the riskiest part of our projects,” said Jarrod Fugate, senior vice president at Haselden C. “Seeing it from that perspective really allows you to feel the project from a different level. You can see the blacksmiths up there and see what they do and how high up they are, it amazes me to be able to sign these beams is like a time capsule and I love having my name on buildings all over the region. of Colorado.”

The project, which will cost approximately $284 million and is expected to be completed in early 2026, will include a new five-story tower on the north side of the building that will house a surgical intensive care unit, a progressive care unit and a trauma surgical unit, according to a previous UCHealth statement. The expansion project will also add a radiation oncology department featuring high-dose radiation therapy, increase the emergency department by adding 22 new patient care rooms with a new entrance, and expand the hospital’s imaging capabilities with additional CT scan services. , ultrasound and magnetic resonance, among others. other things.

The expansion, which is part of original plans for the campus to accommodate service growth over time, is expected to increase the hospital’s bed capacity from 191 to 287 with room to grow to 323 beds, according to the release.

Cal Van’t Land, senior design and construction project manager for UCHealth, said construction has gone smoothly so far and both the emergency department and tower are on schedule.

“It makes you feel good to come home at the end of the day,” he said of the project’s smooth progress. “Coming to work knowing we’re going to finish on time always makes the job a lot easier.”

Kevin Unger, president and CEO of MCR and Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, said this construction and renovation at the Fort Collins hospital has been “a tale of two cities”; While the PVH renovation caused many disruptions due to noise and work being done in the operating hospital space, the MCR expansion was completed “quickly and smoothly.”

“Every time I come here, which is almost every day, tremendous progress is being made,” he said. “It’s amazing to see this all come true.”

Throughout the morning, several groups came forward to add their names to the white beam, one that already had the signatures and dates of others who had signed it.

Jake Acosta, project manager for LPR Construction, said he has been in the business for decades and has had the opportunity to sign his name on several end beams. The completion truly represents the blood and sweat the construction team puts into finishing the building, he said.

Taylor Arthur, a clinical dietitian, said she has worked at MCR for about eight years. He said his department isn’t always as prominent as other things at the hospital, so having the opportunity to sign his name to the expansion meant a lot.

“It’s pretty shocking,” he said.

Those working on the project reiterated the importance of carrying it out and offering an expanded service to the many people who walk through the hospital’s doors.

“It means you can find any type of care you need by coming to this campus,” Van’t Land said. “Hopefully it will be a good experience for the patients and their families who come here.”

Unger said MCR has become more than just Northern Colorado’s main hospital, but also a Level 1 trauma center for people nearby, including in Kansas and Wyoming.

“What it’s really about is making sure we have the infrastructure to continue to care for those patients,” he said.