RUMFORD – With most of the concrete in place for the new Rumford Hospital wing, construction crews are slated to begin placing steel before the middle of March. Warren Allison, project superintendent for Ledgewood Construction, general contractor, said the project is on schedule to be completed in late 2008 despite the heavy snowfall this winter.

When complete, the new wing will offer patients the privacy of single rooms with their own bathrooms and year-round temperature controls. “Perhaps the biggest advantage to patients is that the rooms are large enough to have an area for loved ones,” said Jane Aube, Rumford Hospital director of nursing. “That means that the family can be involved in the patient’s care and learn how they can help when he or she goes home.”

The Rumford Hospital 2007-2008 Annual Appeal will help equip and furnish the new unit and the large operating room that will occupy part of the ground floor in the new wing.