Atrium Health's Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte celebrates topping-out event for new advanced care facility, shaping the future of healthcare with expanded services and state-of-the-art features. Projects part of broader investment plan in the Charlotte region.
Photo courtesy of Atrium Health
A topping out ceremony was held Dec. 3 to celebrate progress on the hospital building, while recognizing the hundreds of construction workers and teammates for their unwavering dedication to our community.
In Charlotte, N.C., Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) recently marked a milestone in the construction of a new advanced care facility at the health system's flagship hospital near the heart of the city.
A topping out ceremony was held Dec. 3 to celebrate progress on the hospital building, while recognizing the hundreds of construction workers and teammates for their unwavering dedication to our community.
"This topping out ceremony is a momentous step forward in bringing our state-of-the-art facility to life," explained Ken Haynes, president of the Southeast Region for Advocate Health, of which Atrium Health is a part.
"What makes this milestone even more meaningful, however, is what this tower will represent," he continued. "Atrium Health serves as a cornerstone for Charlotte and the surrounding communities during life's most profound moments — from the joy of welcoming a new baby to navigating life's greatest challenges. This is more than just a building; it's a testament to the lives we're privileged to impact and the futures we're honored to help shape."
A topping out ceremony is a long-employed construction tradition marking the installation of the final steel beams on many building projects and signifies the completion of the structural framework.
Atrium Health CMC's new advanced care facility will total 1.1 million sq. ft. when it is completed in 2027 and is expected to offer:
- A new emergency department
- Nearly 450 patient rooms
- More than 50 operating and procedure rooms
- A new helipad
- Dedicated space on each floor for teammate health and well-being
- Connectivity across the medical center's campus with new pedestrian bridges and walkways
- A calming respite for the community outdoors along the renovated greenway
"When you look around and see this building not only taking shape, but growing toward completion every day, it is an amazing accomplishment," Collin Lane, senior vice president of facilities management for Atrium Health, said at the recent event. "We are grateful for all the workers, especially DPR Construction and Roberts Builders, who have spent countless hours on this project. Their efforts will one day significantly enhance the experience for both patients and their care teams within these walls."
Following a trend established with recent Atrium Health construction projects, consultations from the hospital system's teammates who work in its facilities have helped shape new innovation.
This input has helped designers maximize flexibility and adaptability within the existing floor space, Atrium Health explained in a news release, enabling staff to optimize their work, including ease of access to medical equipment in patient areas within the new advanced care facility. Patient room layout will place a premium on outside views with additional space inside the room designed for patient and visitor comfort.
Additionally, new surgical suites will provide space for medical teams to better maneuver and support a range of specialized procedures and technology integration. A new emergency department design also will increase the speed of care with an optimized flow.
Hospital's Continuing Evolution Has Made It Charlotte's Best
Atrium Health broke ground in July 2023 on the 12-story advanced care building on Blythe Road, in Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood, as the marquee project in an ongoing re-design and upgrade of the hospital system's facilities and capabilities at the site.
"With acute care beds, operating rooms and an emergency department within its walls, a first-time mother will give birth to a healthy baby girl, a grandfather will undergo cutting-edge surgery, and a neighbor will receive emergency care at a moment's notice," Haynes said last year during the groundbreaking. "I'm sure our founders of Carolinas Medical Center would be very proud to see all that we have accomplished in fulfilling their dream of providing the highest level of care for all in the greater Charlotte community."
CMC first opened its doors in 1940 as Charlotte Memorial Hospital. Since then, it has evolved with many different additions and is now not only the largest medical facility in the region, but the top hospital in Charlotte as well, according to rankings published by U.S. News & World Report. It also serves as the area's only Level I trauma center.
When completed, the new facility will connect with both the Rush S. Dickson Tower, the hospital's current primary bed tower, and the David L. Conlan Center at Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation, which opened in January 2023 and is nationally recognized for excellence.
As the community continues to grow, Atrium Health remains committed to significant investments in the region, as these projects are just two of many which are part of the modernization of the medical center campus, including a proton beam therapy facility which saw its first patients earlier this year.
But CMC's expansion is only one component of Atrium Health's master plan for local-area growth.
In 2018, the health care system announced plans for more than $1 billion in capital expenditure investments for facilities in the Charlotte metro region. Those projects include Atrium Health's new Lake Norman hospital, north of Charlotte in the town of Cornelius, in addition to the Palmetto Tower at Atrium Health Pineville, Atrium Health Union West hospital — with an adjacent medical office building — and the Atrium Health Mountain Island free-standing emergency department.
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