CLEARWATER, Fla. (March 18, 2004) - What started as a painstaking - and sometimes manual - process will end with one final demolition on Friday, March 19. That's when the last column of Morton Plant's historic Roebling Building will be removed. Demolition began on the building in early February. Unlike many demolitions, however, workers have been chipping away bricks and mortar to protect nearby hospital buildings. This meticulous demolition process will be used again to remove the final standing piece of the Roebling Building.

"We are removing Roebling and four other buildings to make way for a new, state-of-the-art facility that will better meet the needs of our community," said Philip K. Beauchamp, president and chief executive officer, Morton Plant Hospital. The new 148,000 square-foot building will include a new heart hospital, five new open-heart operating rooms, five new heart catheterization labs, and 100 additional private rooms. The 2nd Century Master Plan also integrates all women's services into one center, and expands surgical suites, radiology and endoscopy services. Plans call for the heart hospital to be completed in the fall of 2005; radiology and women's services to be completed in the fall of 2007.

Built in 1961, the building was named after Donald Roebling, inventor of the amphibious vehicle used in World War II and the first benefactor of the hospital. To commemorate the building's history, many of its bricks were preserved for a future use.

Established in 1916, Morton Plant Hospital is a 687-bed facility dedicated to improving the health of all it serves through community-owned health services that set the standard for high quality, compassionate care. Morton Plant Hospital is located at 300 Pinellas Street, Clearwater, Fla., 727-462-7000.

Contact: Beth Hardy

Morton Plant News Bureau

727-298-6199 Phone

727-419-4471 Pager