June 11, 2008

Teamwork is the hallmark of the B3C construction

As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. Likewise, it takes a dedicated team to raise a 530,000 square-foot building. MGHers, special guests and the teams that have been involved in planning, designing and managing the construction of the MGH's new clinical facility, the Building for the Third Century (B3C), gathered June 20 to mark the project's official groundbreaking.

Breaking ground for the future: From left, Buuck, Torchiana, Saba, Elrick, Lawrence, Ortiz, Seymour and Slavin

Every detail of the major building project — including the demolition of the Clinics, Vincent Burnham Kennedy and Tilton buildings — has been planned and managed by staff from MGH Planning and Construction, Partners Real Estate, Administration, the Thrive B3C Operations Committee, the Development Office, Turner Construction and NBBJ Architects. In addition, nursing directors, physicians and other caregivers have worked with planners and architects to help design clinical areas.

"The teams we have put together for this building are characteristic of the teams that work tirelessly here at the MGH every day to provide the best patient care anywhere," said Jean Elrick, MD, senior vice president for Administration. "Today, we are gathered to acknowledge this milestone in the building's development and the championship caliber work of those teams in designing and building this critical patient care facility."

Participating at the event were special guests David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox and Richard Seymour of the New England Patriots. Serving as examples of the power of teamwork, Ortiz and Seymour joined Elrick; Peter L. Slavin, MD, MGH president; David F. Torchiana, MD, MGPO chairman and CEO; Edward P. Lawrence, Esq, chair of the MGH Board of Trustees; Charles Buuck of Turner Construction; and Joan Saba of NBBJ Architects. At the construction site, Ortiz and Seymour each expressed their gratitude to the MGH and its team of caregivers and presented the hospital with signed team jerseys. As symbols of the importance of teamwork, the jerseys will be temporarily on display at Coffee Central. The group then put hands to shovels to ceremonially break ground and mark the construction phase of the B3C.

Ortiz and Seymour also donated signed jerseys to another special guest, Robert
Deveau. An MGH patient, Deveau came to know many on the B3C project team because he often watched the demolition activity from his Ellison 8 window when he was awaiting heart and kidney transplants last year. In fact, Deveau became known as the "window superintendent" by Turner Construction staff. Deveau received both transplants early this year and made a special trip from his home in Connecticut to mark the groundbreaking as a representative of all the patients under the care of the MGH today and the many thousands more who will be treated by the MGH in the B3C in the future.