Placing the beam on the structure is the last step in the first phase of construction. The five-story, 108-bed, $100 million hospital is expected to be completed in 2014. Harrisburg-based Quandel Construction Group Inc. is managing the project.

The ceremony also was to include a presentation by Mark Barabas, who was recently appointed senior vice president of operations for the facility, on what will be included in the hospital.

These changes are part of the nonprofit system's $150 million Vision 2017 initiative, which also includes improvements to its existing PinnacleHealth Harrisburg and Community General Osteopathic hospitals.

A time-lapse video showing construction progress on the new hospital is available here.