Topping Out Ceremony Marks Major Milestone for Sheltering Arms Institute
On Wednesday, November 28, Sheltering Arms Hospital and VCU Health System held a topping out ceremony for the new 114-bed rehabilitation facility, Sheltering Arms Institute – a Joint Venture with VCU Health. Patients, staff, and supporters of both organizations as well as construction crew members gathered to celebrate this major milestone toward the project’s completion.
“It is through the cumulative efforts of many, that we have been able to achieve, not just this structure, but what will reside in its walls. Inside these walls will be a compendium of skills that will drive patients to achieve the successes of independence. This building and those working inside represents hope to all the future patients it will house. So today, let’s celebrate this milestone, this topping out, as it is an important step towards our future,” said Mary Zweifel, president and CEO of Sheltering Arms.
Crews began construction on the facility, located on 25 acres in the West Creek Medical Park off Broad Street Road, just east of the state Route 288 interchange in Goochland County, in May. The steel frame has been erected and over the next several months, the framing will be completed and the exterior walls will be installed.
Paul Wesolowski, COO of the VCU Health System, said, “It’s more than the building we’re putting here. It’s really creating a beacon where we can talk about advocacy for individuals with disabilities and enhanced rehab services in the community… This building is a way for all of us to come together in the community within both organizations to continue to be advocates for that and show individuals the importance of it.”
The joint venture combines inpatient beds from both organizations to create a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art destination hospital focused on caring for individuals who have survived strokes, spinal cord injuries or brain injuries, as well as those in need of general rehabilitation or various neurological diseases and disorders.
Sheltering Arms Institute is on schedule to open its doors in late spring of 2020.
Watch the video here!