Hospital President and Chief Executive Officer Chuck Sherwin said the ceremony represented the halfway point for the project because it took about a year to get this far and there is still another year of construction to go before the project is complete.

“Today is a special day where we mark a topping out ceremony where we recognize a longstanding tradition of raising the final beam of the steel work that’s been completed,” Sherwin told those who attended the ceremony. “After today, the crane will be disassembled and will go away from the site.”

MidMichigan Health Chief Operating Officer Greg Rogers said, on behalf of the leadership at MidMichigan Health, he wanted to congratulate everyone involved with the project and bringing it to fruition.

“All of those who supported our affiliation from the very beginning know how important this project is for the entire community,” Rogers said. “Providing first class health care not only to the residents of Alpena, but also the region beyond. As we’ve shown you, we’re going to continue to be committed to leading medicine in this community.”

News Photo by Crystal Nelson A construction worker on Tuesday connects the last iron beam onto a crane during MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena’s topping out ceremony.

The $63.5 million project to build a new patient tower with 60 new patient rooms is on track to open in the spring of 2022. Sherwin said construction is also being completed safely, as there have been no injuries and no delays.

The coronavirus pandemic has shown just how important it is to have health care and health care providers and that that is available in Alpena and Michigan, Sherwin said

“What we don’t have right now is a great facility to provide that care,” he said. “With this building — over the next 10 months or a year — we’ve going to have that as a compliment to our organization. As our signs say for MidMichigan Health, we are going to be your go-to place that’s getting bigger and better.”

Sherwin said about 70% of the hospital’s patient rooms are semi-private, which means patients end up sharing rooms as the volume of patients admitted to the hospital increases. He said hospital officials want to provide private rooms to patients, but have not been able to do that in the last 30 or 40 years.

Tim Kippenhan, vice president and chief operations officer for Miron Construction, said topping-out events push the construction crews to get the project done faster.

News Photos by Crystal Nelson MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena Development Council members Barb Chrzan, Mari Crow, and Ann Burton on Tuesday sign their name on the last beam that was placed on the new patient tower.

“Obviously we have some work to do in front of us,” he said.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson Construction workers move a beam signed by MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena staff and board members during a topping out ceremony Tuesday at the hospital’s construction site.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena Hospital President and Chief Executive Officer Chuck Sherwin speaks to those who attended the hospital’s topping out ceremony for the new patient tower on Tuesday.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson James Decker, a physician with MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena, signs his name on the last beam to be placed at the top of the new patient tower on Tuesday.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena MidMichigan Health Chief Operating Officer Greg Rogers addresses those who attended the hospital’s topping out ceremony for the new patient tower on Tuesday.