Hospital wing set

Nick Malawskey

COLLEGE TOWNSHIP — Under an overcast sky Thursday morning the final beam for the Mount Nittany Medical Center East Wing expansion was lifted into place, bearing the signatures of close to 200 people.

CDT/Nabil K. Mark

Joe and Sue Paterno sign their names to the last steel beam which will complete the framework for the new East Wing of the Mount Nittany Medical Center June 18, 2009. CDT/Nabil K. Mark

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Among those at the hospital to make the occasion were Joe and Sue Paterno, on hand to announce a $1 million gift for the Foundation for Mount Nittany Medical Center.

Joe Paterno played down the couple’s gift, saying it was a small part of a larger effort by the community to build a better health care system.

“Sometimes I don’t think people realize how many great people we have here in this town,” he said, citing other

couples such as Lloyd and Dottie Huck, who previously pledged $1.5 million toward the hospital. “We’re in a special environment, a special community.”

The foundation has raised more than $9 million in its campaign, funding that will be used for current and future expansions.

Dr. Jon Dranov, the foundation’s chairman, said the medical center expects to continue to grow during the next few years as it adds more services and solidifies a partnership with Penn State to become a medical campus.

“I think there is little doubt that we are going to be a teaching hospital here,” said Dranov, who praised former CEO Tom Murray for his vision in creating the foundation and pushing for the expansion of the medical center.

“We owe Tom Murray a great debt for starting us down this road,” he added.

Meanwhile, a few paces down the street, construction workers were busy hooking ties from a crane onto a steel beam, covered in names scrawled in black magic marker.

The 620-pound beam was not only carrying signatures as it was raised into the sky Thursday morning—it also bore a small fir tree.

Chris Magent, general manager at Alexander Construction, the firm managing the project, said the tree was a traditional good luck object in the building industry.

The company and its subcontractors have already logged more than 20,000 man-hours on the project, working seven days a week to keep it on schedule.

With the placement of the final beam workers will begin building the walls and roof of the three-story expansion before moving inside to complete the new building space.

Although the final structural component may be in place, there is still a long road before it is opened — the expansion area is not scheduled to begin operations until 2011.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” Magent said. “But this is a substantial milestone.”

Nick Malawskey may be reached at 235-3928.