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BWH celebrated a milestone in the construction of the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center this week with a beam-signing ceremony for hospital leadership, community leaders and generous donors.
"This is an exciting day for Brigham and Women's Hospital and, of course, for the hundreds of people involved with this construction project," said BWH President Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA.
Gottlieb and Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD, chairman of the Department of Medicine, welcomed approximately 75 guests and invited them to sign the steel I-beam which will be placed at the top of the 10-story Shapiro building. A construction video and photos were shown during Wednesday's event held in the Cohn Courtyard.
Linda and Daniel Waintrup, daughter and son in-law of Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro, and Michael Zinner, MD, chairman of Surgery and also a Shapiro son in-law, signed the beam, as did John Kavanagh, president and CEO of construction company William A. Berry & Son and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Murray, MD, and his wife, Virginia.
Gottlieb offered a special "thank you" and welcome to BWH neighbors, Roxbury Tenants of Harvard and Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services. "Thank you for your leadership, friendship and patience. You have been wonderful neighbors," he said.
Loscalzo said the new Shapiro facility will allow BWH to "overhaul the conventional model of cardiovascular care in a manner that improves efficiency, quality and safety."
He added, "The integrated nature of the center's organization will allow BWH to continue to provide the highest level of care while promoting discovery of new treatments, accelerating the translation of scientific research into proven clinical practices and training future leaders in cardiovascular medicine."
The topping off ceremony comes more than a year after crews broke ground in summer 2005. Construction of the 10-story Shapiro building remains on schedule with 250 workers erecting the steel frame, pouring concrete, hoisting the mechanical equipment into place and starting the interior framing, mechanical and electrical work.
Be sure to check out the new Shapiro site on Pike Notes at www.bwhpikenotes.org/aboutthehospital/shapiro/index.asp