St. Vincent Regional Hospital Construction Reaches Halfway Point
The construction of the nearly $1 billion building for St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Billings has reached half of its final height.
Seven more floors will be added to the existing structure, ultimately creating a 14-floor hospital, replacing the current buildings.
Photo by: Vanessa Willardson/MTN
"This is a huge deal," said Matt Peterson, sheet metal general foreman with Air Controls. "You still have a whole other seven floors from that top piece of iron."
Work on the project began in June 2022, and crews estimate completion by 2029.
The need for a new hospital stems from several factors:
- Healthcare Efficiency: The new building will streamline patient flow and centralize imaging services, allowing for faster diagnoses and procedures. Currently, imaging services are scattered across different departments.
- Structural Issues: The age of the existing buildings has led to infrastructure problems necessitating a complete replacement.
"It’s really an ease of workflow for our patients," said Karlee May, director of imaging resources at St. Vincent, who contributed to the new building's design.
The hospital broke ground on the project last June and is expected to be completed in 2029.