After announcing that its $800 million-plus Critical Care Tower was finished being built, the University of New Mexico Hospital's huge addition is getting ready to accept new patients early next month.
The thing is, it's not finished. And that's on purpose.
Mike Chicarelli, UNMH's chief operating officer, told KOAT that they planned to leave the top two of seven floors unfinished all along, for now.
"They have plumbing and some electrical, some HVAC, but there's mostly concrete," Chicarelli said. "Nothing finished on those top two floors, and the reason is that it allows us to build that infrastructure. As we were starting and moving through the project, it allows us to expand in the future at minimal disruption to the patients that are in the tower now."
After the tower opens, some re