PHOTOS & VIDEO: Guests at the symbolic topping off celebration at Ocean Medical Center watched with excitement as a 15-foot beam holding hundreds of signatures was positioned onto the steel framing of the future emergency department slated to open in the Spring of 2014.

The ceremony represents the final phase of the steel work which supports the $82 million expansion project that will more than triple the size of the emergency department and transform the hospital campus.

The event also served as an opportunity to announce the progress in fundraising activities for the project. Officials reported that the medical center has raised over $6.5 million towards a first phase goal of $10 million to fulfill the Challenge Gift given by the Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Foundation during the groundbreaking less than a year ago.

“Ocean Medical Center is literally changing before our eyes,” says Dean Q. Lin, FACHE, president of Ocean Medical Center. “The construction process has been an evolution since last summer, and the steel work truly brings the scope of the project to life.”

“While the tradesmen and women are diligently following blueprints to construct the new facility, several local residents and businesses have embraced the vision of these plans and invested in what will be a phenomenal community resource,” says Lin.

During the groundbreaking in April 2012, Edele Hovnanian announced that her family’s foundation allocated $5 million to Ocean Medical Center for the Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Emergency Care Center. This was in the form of a Challenge Gift, in which the Hovnanian family will match every dollar for dollar raised from the community, up to $5 million.

“My father is forever indebted to Ocean County for so much of his success, and has made a conscious effort to ingrain in his children the importance of giving back to the community,” said Edele Hovnanian, vice president and director of the Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Foundation, Inc. “My father started his business in Brick. I was born in this community. We want you to know that the Hovnanian family will always be there for you. This is just the beginning of a special relationship.”

Richard Goldman, co-chair of the Capital Campaign, says, “We are inspired by the momentum and level of giving that is building at Ocean Medical Center. These are record setting gifts which make us extremely grateful to have so much community support. We are confident that we’ll achieve our target thanks to our existing donors as well as many new ones.”

In addition to a new Emergency Department, the project also includes a lower level for critical support services, and second and third floor shell space that will eventually contain expanded diagnostic and treatment services, as well as private patient care units.

“We were confident that the Hovnanian gift would inspire others and promote philanthropy throughout the community,” says Lin. “The remarkable community support that we’ve seen will transform the way emergency care is provided at Ocean Medical Center.”

The need for emergency services has grown tremendously over the years, with Ocean Medical Center currently treating more than 51,000 patients annually in its existing Emergency Department. The new facility will expand capacity to care for up to 70,000 people annually. Key features of the new Emergency Department include 49 private patient bays, an eight-bay private area for pediatric patients, designated space for express care patients, and a safe and secure private area for behavioral health patients.

There have been no interruptions in emergency services during the construction. The medical center’s satellite emergency department, the Ocean Care Center in Point Pleasant, is another resource available for emergency injuries or illnesses and is also available 24/7.