Setting of the final beam to the Mount Nittany Medical Center's East Wing expansion project.

Joe and Sue Paterno celebrated the setting of the final beam on Mount Nittany Medical Center’s East Wing expansion project with a $1 million donation to the cause.

About 200 others joined the Paternos for the “topping-off” ceremony, which included speeches by Carl Raup, the chairman of the hospital’s board of trustees, Dr. Jon Dranov, chairman of Mount Nittany’s foundation fundraising campaign, and Mount Nittany President and CEO Rich Wisniewksi.

Joe Paterno signs the Mount Nittany Medical Center banner with Sue looking on.

“There’s been a lot of talk in Washington about what we can do to fix health care,” Coach Paterno said. “This is what we have to do.”

The foundation headed by Dranov and the Paternos has raised $9.7 million and has set its fundraising goal at $12.5 million. The hospital’s new wing, which is on schedule to open in 2010, will include state-of-the-art, single patient rooms, an intensive care unit and an acute-care nursing unit.

Wisniewski discussed plans to expand the hospital’s affiliation with Penn State medical education programs.

“We are going to be a teaching hospital,” Wisniewski said. “We will be increasingly incorporating medical education into our operations here.”

Paterno jests with crowd.

Wisniewski took over as president and CEO at Mount Nittany after the departure in early May of Thomas J. Murray, who had served in those positions since 2001. During his tenure, Murray signed a master affiliation with Penn State Hershey and approved a master campus plan with Penn State, changed the hospital’s name from Centre Community Hospital, incorporated the foundation and launched the capital campaign to support the East Wing expansion.

Mount Nittany banner signed

“We are where we are today because of Tom Murray,” said Wisniewki, who had previously served as CFO and senior vice president under Murray and was announced as his successor soon after Murray’s exit. “But he helped assemble a superb executive team that has made the transition seamless and smooth.”

Wisniewski said he will continue to implement the five-year strategic plan that was created under Murray’s leadership, including pushing hard to ensure the East Wing expansion is completed on schedule.

Alexander Building Construction Co. has been overseeing construction on the 65,000 square foot project. The company has logged 24,000 hours worked on the site, including 37 sub-contractors aiding in design and construction.