Nor-Lea welcomes further construction with topping out ceremony
Azure Mitchell/News-Sun
LOVINGTON, N.M. — Wednesday morning, when the birds were just waking up, community members, contributors and Nor-Lea hospital staff gathered to witness the final piece of a giant skeleton coming into place: the last structural beam being placed onto a transformative new building.
The moment was a major signpost for Nor-Lea Hospital District on its five-year journey of improving healthcare in Lea County. Once completed, this massive building, located behind the main hospital and is expected to fortify the county’s medical infrastructure.
David Shaw, CEO of Nor-Lea Hospital District, said the new building will be three stories tall and twice the size of Nor-Lea’s main building. On the top floor, they will be expanding the physical, occupational, and speech therapy rehab program. Nor-Lea will also soon offer specialized pediatric care, he said.
On the bottom floor, will be a rheumatology and neurological program added to the pain program that already exists. Shaw said the building, which cost about $40 million, has been paid in full to ensure future generations will not be burdened with debt.
“On the middle floor, we will be moving in additional specialists, some of our existing specialists,” Shaw said. “We plan to expand our cardiology program, our neurology program, ophthalmology and also Urology. So, over the next two to three years, we plan to hire additional doctors and fill out that second floor.”
Shaw also shared exciting news of a child adolescent psychiatrist being welcomed to the building in Oct., just the beginning of many jobs this new facility will provide. This building is expected to upgrade Nor-Lea Hospital as a whole. It’ll hold new services, provide jobs and give residents convenience and assurance of a closer healthcare facility.
“When you look at the statistics, 25 years ago, Lea County had the worst health care statistics in the state. To now, we rank somewhere around 11th out of all the counties in the state,” Shaw said. “We really pinpointed some new specialties, for example, urology, ophthalmology. There’s a real need for cardiology and neurology in southeastern New Mexico. And so that’s why we’re doing this today.”
With the final structural beam in place, the building now moves to a new stage of construction. To celebrate the milestone, a traditional “topping out” ceremony was hosted Wednesday. As tradition goes, the beam was adorned with a few key accessories. Written in the middle, a Bible verse and atop the beam sat an evergreen tree and an American flag. Along with these customs, the community was invited to sign the beam.
“We’ve invited everyone to sign it, the community, the steel workers, the contractors, our employees,” Shaw said, “I think it symbolizes our commitment to one another, to serve our community and to serve one another.”
Shaw said there are eight of these beams across various hospital district construction projects and each carries the same traditions. Placing these items symbolizes Nor-Lea being a servant and committing to its community, he said.
“The American flag symbolizes the greatest country on Earth. It represents our patriotism. It also represents gratitude for our freedom and for the innovative spirit that we see here in Lea County and across our nation,” Shaw said. “The evergreen tree, and that is a gift from the steel workers, and it represents good fortune to those who occupy the building.”
Erik Smithson, with Robin & Morton Construction and senior project manager for Nor-Lea’s recent developments, said this building has been an all-hands-on-deck project and is fully collaborative with utility companies, hospital personnel and other vested interests.
“A lot of what took place with the utilities, you have the cooperation of the county electric (cooperative), of the city water department, the gas department,” Smithson said, “all those folks came together and helped us achieve our goals on time.”
Shane Hansen, field superintendent for Robin & Morton Construction, said his teams have been working 10-12 hours, four days every week. And despite the recent weather delays, they are still on track to complete the building in June 2026.
Shaw said he’s thankful to everyone who made this possible and looks forward to more people coming to Lovington for their healthcare rather than leaving the county.
“I get a great level of satisfaction and just seeing the whole team come together,” Shaw said, “Because it’s not me sitting down at night drawing out a map, right? This is an entire team putting this together.”
Looking ahead, Shaw said he and his team are prepared to begin construction on another project for the hospital once this one is finished. This next project will add space for lab drawings, a respiratory EKG and expanded parking.
