Steel structure complete on PVH expansion

UCHealth celebrated the ‘topping off’ of a steel structure that will soon house a new emergency room, orthopedics and clinical decision units, and provide more room for laboratory service.
By:
Jan. 6, 2016

Like placing a star atop a Christmas tree, UCHealth celebrated its topping of a major expansion at Poudre Valley Hospital.

UCHealth officials, employees, construction workers, the media and community members watched Dec. 18 as the last beam — with an attached Christmas tree and American flag — was placed on top of the steel structure that will be the newest addition to Poudre Valley Hospital (PVH) at the corner of Lemay Avenue and Doctors Lane in Fort Collins.

The shell of the new structure stands in the place of the original 1925 hospital. Soon, it will house a new emergency department, clinical decision unit, orthopedic unit, and laboratory space. The exterior of the building is expected to be complete in May 2016.

The $102-million expansion is targeted to be complete at the end of this year, with the first patient being accepted in early 2017.

The project creates space for the hospital’s Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, additional parking north of the new building and a helicopter landing pad on its rooftop.

Two PVH campus buildings north of the A building — the former Aspen Club and Express Lab buildings — have already been demolished and a third will come down this spring to make room for the new parking lot.

Doctors Lane is currently closed because of the project but is expected to reopen on or before Feb. 29.

Neonatal care Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Poudre Valley Hospital Women's care

About the author

Kati Blocker has always been driven to learn and explore the world around her. And every day, as a writer for UCHealth, Kati meets inspiring people, learns about life-saving technology, and gets to know the amazing people who are saving lives each day. Even better, she gets to share their stories with the world.

As a journalism major at the University of Wyoming, Kati wrote for her college newspaper. She also studied abroad in Swansea, Wales, while simultaneously writing for a Colorado metaphysical newspaper.

After college, Kati was a reporter for the Montrose Daily Press and the Telluride Watch, covering education and health care in rural Colorado, as well as city news and business.

When she's not writing, Kati is creating her own stories with her husband Joel and their two young children.