Patients, hospital staff sign steel beam that will complete construction of new cancer pavilion

Long Beach Memorial celebrated a construction milestone— the final piece of structural steel— of the new Todd Cancer Pavilion with a commemorative “Topping Out Ceremony” on Sept. 14. Cancer survivors, current patients, hospital staff, physicians, construction crews and community leaders all gathered to be part of MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute (TCI) history by autographing the building’s final piece of structural steel before watching it raised into place atop the new 64,000-square-foot specialized cancer pavilion.
After receiving hundreds of signatures, the final beam was lifted into place after those in attendance touched by cancer joined in signaling the crane operator to raise the beam. Three-time cancer survivor Susie Garrison, among those to motion the crane, shared her own journey with ovarian cancer. “It will make life much simpler for cancer patients and their families because it will give them the opportunity to find all of these incredible people and services in one location,” she said, speaking to the crowd in front of the new pavilion. “It will be a dream.”

Tamra Kaplan, chief operating officer for Long Beach Memorial, touched on the significance of the new pavilion and how it will benefit the community. “This new pavilion will not only provide ample space for us to expand our capacity and provide additional patient services, it will offer these services all under one roof,” she said. Kaplan also revered the pavilion as “a place that will provide comfort and quality care for our patients in a warm and healing environment.”
Long Beach Memorial supporters and city leaders also were on hand to celebrate this milestone for the TCI Pavilion that will soon house the many available TCI cancer programs and cancer-support services, giving patients and their families access to all they need under one roof.
Once completed, the new state-of-the-art medical facility will increase the institute’s capacity, allowing medical professionals to serve more patients and to provide leading-edge cancer care and research. McCarthy Building Companies, general contractor for the project, is working to transform the second and third floors of the existing four-level administration building into a dedicated cancer center. The project also includes construction of a two-level, 1,913-square-foot lobby addition which will serve as the entrance to the new pavilion.

Source: LB Memorial