Topping Off Ceremony Marks Construction Milestone for S. Prestley and Helen Blake Ambulatory Care Center

Enfield, CT. – A “topping off” ceremony was held to mark a major milestone in the construction of the S. Prestley and Helen Blake Ambulatory Care Center with the placement of the top steel beam on the project’s main structure. The ceremony, held on Johnson Memorial Hospital’s Enfield campus, drew hospital leaders and colleagues, as well as local elected officials.

A “topping off” ceremony is a tradition within the construction industry and is held when the highest structural point in the building construction is attained. To celebrate this event, the last steel girder is signed, lifted into place, and welded to the structure. A small evergreen tree and the American flag are also secured to the girder as it is hoisted to the top of the structure. The tree is meant to represent the strength of the new building and the desire for the construction project to remain injury-free.

The more than $40 million dollar expansion and renovation project is designed to create a comprehensive "hub" for outpatient services on the hospital's Enfield campus. Currently, there are four buildings on the site: the Karen Davis Kryznowek Cancer Center, the Johnson Medical Office Building, the Nirenberg Medical Center, and the Johnson Surgery Center, with a total “footprint “of 66,000 square feet. The project will add 38,000 square feet through the expansion of the cancer center and the replacement of the current surgery center with a building that will house an upgraded surgery center and additional medical office space. Once complete, the Enfield campus will feature four state-of-the-art operating rooms, new and expanded lab services, primary care, 24 exam rooms and specialty suites.

“This important project will allow us to better serve residents of northern Connecticut and western Massachusetts by not only improving access to high-quality care, but also adding convenience to help create an exceptional patient experience,” said Robert Roose, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Administrative Officer, Johnson Memorial Hospital and Mercy Medical Center. “We are also grateful for the financial support we’ve received from Trinity Health and from elite donors like the late S. Prestley Blake and his wife Helen, who have supported the project since it’s inception.”

While Mrs. Blake was not able to attend the “topping off” ceremony, she did send her best wishes. “We have long been inspired by the high level of care and compassion that can be found at Johnson Memorial Hospital and Trinity Health Of New England. My late husband Prestley and I have championed this project because of its importance to the local community, bringing vital clinical services close to home in a beautiful, new care setting. And, with his passing, it’s my honor to continue the philanthropic work that we started together,” said Helen Blake.

“Once completed, the S. Prestley and Helen Blake Ambulatory Care Center will deliver invaluable services and state-of-the-art care to the patients and families served by Johnson Memorial Hospital, its medical professionals and the Trinity Health Of New England network,” said Josh Sylvester, Consigli Construction Project Executive and Connecticut Director of Operations. “Consigli Construction is committed to prioritizing innovative healthcare projects like these that will have meaningful impacts on the community, and we are grateful to our partners on this project for their creativity and continued collaboration.”