Worker seriously injured after fall at Mount Nittany Health construction site
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Worker hospitalized after falling from ladder at Mount Nittany construction site
- OSHA staff on scene gathering details; formal investigation not yet confirmed
- Incident marks second fall-related injury at site in past three months
A worker was hospitalized Wednesday with life-threatening injuries after falling from a “significant height” at the construction site of Mount Nittany Health’s new patient tower, State College police said.
A 31-year-old man was found unconscious about 4:25 p.m. Wednesday on a stair landing, police said. He was found about 30 minutes after he fell from a ladder, police said. The department did not disclose how far the man fell.
He was first taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center’s emergency room before being flown by medical helicopter to Geisinger Medical Center, police said.
“A tragic accident occurred at the construction site of the Mount Nittany Health Patient Tower project,” a Mount Nittany Health spokesperson said Thursday in an email to the Centre Daily Times. “We extend our deepest thoughts to the worker and their family during this difficult time.”
It was the second time a worker was injured in a fall at the construction site in the past three months. A worker for Baltimore-based Alliance Exterior Construction was injured in June.
The federal agency that monitors workplace safety is investigating Wednesday’s fall, a U.S. Labor Department spokesperson said. The worker was also employed by Alliance Exterior Construction. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has six months to complete the probe.
Mount Nittany’s spokesperson said the health system will “cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities as they conduct their investigation and review of the incident.”
“The safety of everyone on our campus remains our highest priority, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety on this project and in all that we do,” the health system said.
The OSHA investigation into the June fall at the construction site is ongoing.
Connor Lewis, chapter president of Seven Mountains AFL-CIO, offered thoughts and prayers to the man who fell Wednesday, saying every worker deserves a “safe, good job, and to be able to go to work and return home safely.” He also thanked Mount Nittany Medical Center’s staff for stabilizing and preparing him for a transfer to Danville.
But after a second fall this summer involving the same construction company, Lewis said his labor union is “disturbed.”
“Injuries like this are rarely unavoidable tragedies. They are the result of identifiable problems that employers have an obligation to address,” Lewis said in a statement. “Worker safety has too frequently been an issue in Centre County, and we must do better for the workers that build our community through their skill and hard work.”
Falls, slips and trips accounted for nearly 40% of all construction fatalities in 2023, according to a report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. About two-thirds of fatal falls were from a height of between six and 30 feet. Portable ladders and stairs were the primary source of 109 fatalities in construction.
“We will continue to monitor the situation for developments,” Lewis said. “We believe that Mount Nittany Hospital, as a leader in securing community health and safety, must take responsibility for the health and safety of workers employed by contractors on the tower expansion. We urge them to work with their contractors to ensure that these problems are addressed.”
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 2:16 PM.