MVHS Encouraging Community Students To Build Their Own Hospital

The process of planning, designing and building a brand new hospital in Downtown Utica began in 2015. Now, the steel beams are up and the structure is starting to take shape. Officials with MVHS are now encouraging the community to build their own hospital and they're holding a contest related to it.

In partnership with Hammes Healthcare and Gilbane Building Company Mohawk Valley Health System announced Tuesday they're holding a contest for students in grades K-8. The hope of the contest is to possibly get young girls interested in the building and construction industry. The contest is being held in conjunction with Women in Construction Week 2021 March 7th through the 13th.

Hisa Zhu is the Project Executive with Hammes Healthcare. Zhu says,

Women in Construction Week is an excellent opportunity to not only highlight the amazing women that work in this industry, but to bring attention to the industry as a whole and encourage the younger generations to learn more. It is our hope that this contest will not only help kids understand all that goes into a large project like the new MVHS Regional Medical Center, but will give them something creative and fun to work on.

It's easy to participate. All you have to do is design and build a hospital model using items you find around the home. You must follow these steps when considering your construction idea.

• Main Entrance
• Ambulance/Emergency Department Entrance
• Helipad
• Patient Tower (Ours has nine floors! How many will yours have?)
• Greenspace (a park or garden area with plants or grass to relax!)
• Signage (Visit mvhealthsystem.org/build-a-hospital for printable signs to attach to your creation).

Entries for the contest will be accepted starting on Monday, February 22nd and the submission period will end on March 15th, 2021. Officials with MVHS say prizes will be awarded to the top 3 submissions and the winners will be announced through the MVHS website and social media channels on Monday, March 29, 2021.

You can email photos of your submissions to MVHS@GilbaneCo.com. You can get more tools and information by visiting mvhealthysytem.org/build-a-hospital/.