To end October 2011

By BEN KLEINE

Staff writer

St. Luke Hospital board members and CEO Jeremy Armstrong broke ground Monday afternoon on the hospital’s $6 million renovation project.

Armstrong said construction is set to begin in July with additions to the physical and occupational therapy departments, new specifications for the operating room, and new mechanical systems.

Armstrong said that Hutton Construction, the company hired to do the renovation, will have more people on the grounds as the project moves toward renovating hospital areas currently in use. Armstrong asked St. Luke Hospital patients to tolerate the mess while construction is in progress.

“It will be distracting but it won’t affect patient care,” he said.

Armstrong set a tentative time for completion at October 2011.

“We’ve been working on this for more than two years,” he said. “To finally see the steel beams and concrete being laid is exciting.”