Courtesy Photo This photo provided by MidMichigan Health shows, from left to right, Greg Rogers, president, MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland and executive president and chief operating officer, MidMichigan Health, Jim Florip, chair, Board of Trustees, MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena, Diane Postler-Slattery, president and CEO, MidMichigan Health, and Chuck Sherwin, president, MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena at the groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for the new patient tower planned for the Alpena hospital.

ALPENA – Officials from MidMichigan Health and other prominent partners officially broke ground today on a new, $63.5 million patient tower being built at MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena.

The event was steamed live on Facebook, with people from all over the county viewing.

The three-story, 95,000-square-foot addition to the hospital will feature 60 new patient rooms, including 20 surgical rooms, 22 progressive care rooms, eight intensive care rooms, eight labor recovery rooms, with a cesarean section suite, five operating rooms, and 18 private recovery rooms.

Hospital President Chuck Sherwin said many amenities will keep families of patients comfortable and others will allow staff to perform their jobs more effectively.

“Over the years, many of of you have envisioned a different way for us to provide health care, and we want you to know that we have listened and are delivering on that vision,” Sherwin said. “This is the biggest project the hospital has ever done, and it will transform how we provide care.”

Diane Postler-Slattery, president of MidMichigan Health, the Midland-based group that owns the Alpena hospital, said the health care system is committed to Alpena and Northeast Michigan. She described the project as monumental for the Alpena area, as well as for the system as a whole.

“This is really about more than a building,” she said. “This is about people, and our action will help create healthy communities together with them. We are here today to show that we are committed to the future, and this patient tower is about the future.”

Sherwin said many people were involved in the lengthy process to develop and design the expansion of the hospital. He said administrators, hospital staff, and community partners were all asked their opinions, needs, and concerns, and he believes the best plan was developed from that input.

“We engaged in a thorough debate, deliberated during the process, and considered our options, and, together, we chose a course that will achieve the greatest functionality and an inspiring design,” Sherwin said. “We learned from each other, learned about each other. We refined our plans until we found the perfect solution, with a common voice. We are building the future of health care to meet the diverse needs of the our community.”

Sherwin said towers take about two years to complete and the project should be completed in the spring of 2022. He said construction will begin at the hospital in the next several weeks and he’s eager to see people at the grand opening.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to show the expected cost of the new patient tower at MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena is $63.5 million. The price was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.