By Carol Cole-Frowe

Transcript Staff Writer

Applause broke out at noon Monday when a 220-foot crane beside Norman Regional Hospital’s burgeoning $110 million HealthPlex swung an evergreen to the top of the rising building where an American flag already was waving in brisk winds.

The short-needled blue spruce now perched atop the HealthPlex signaled construction of the new building hitting its peak, said David Whitaker, president and CEO of Norman Regional Health System.

“It’s a great celebration for Norman, Cleveland County and central Oklahoma,” Whitaker said to a crowd of city leaders, legislators, health professionals and construction workers.

The traditional evergreen and American flag are ancient Scandinavian customs of “topping” to honor the about 300 craftsmen working on the 148-foot-tall building, said Mark Grimes, Flintco division vice president. About 500 workers will be involved in the construction before it is completed.

A three-story Women’s and Children’s Hospital and five-story tower for cardiology, orthopedics and neurosurgery are planned. Room for expansion is built into the project.

Whitaker said the workers have kept this project moving forward. Groundbreaking for the new 400,000-square-foot facility near Tecumseh Road and Interstate 35 was Sept. 26, 2006.

“But more importantly, it’s on time,” he said. The building is scheduled to be completed in summer 2009.

Dr. Steve Lindsey, representing the Norman Regional Hospital Authority, said the city and board have witnessed the evolution of the Norman Regional Hospital System.

The NRHA board members came up with what they believed was the best vision for the system.

“We wanted Norman and the region to be the healthiest community,” Lindsey said. “We wanted the hospital to be the hospital of choice.”

The new HealthPlex campus will provide the regional community with an additional 130 hospital beds, including 19 neonatal intensive care beds and 32 cardiovascular beds. Eight operating rooms will be built with capability for future expansion to 11 operating rooms.

Grimes said safety is a state of mind for the company. He said only two workers had “lost time” incidents, “very minor in nature,” since the construction began.

Whitaker recognized the NRHS Auxiliary, which made the largest single donation to the construction project.