Virtua Health marked a major construction milestone June 9 at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, celebrating the placement of the final steel beam atop the hospital’s new seven-story patient tower.
The topping-off ceremony for the Marvin Samson Pavilion, part of a $500 million renovation and expansion at the Haddon Avenue hospital, brought together more than 100 guests, including elected officials, community members, hospital staff and Virtua leaders.
The nearly 200,000-square-foot addition, slated for completion in spring 2028, will increase the hospital’s size by 35% and serve as its new main entrance. The pavilion will include six floors for patient care and support the complex services centralized at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes, including advanced cardiovascular care, organ transplantation and a neurosciences program in partnership with Penn Medicine.
In recognition of the hospital’s history and Catholic identity, Father Jon Thomas, vicar general of the Diocese of Camden, blessed the 20-foot, 700-pound steel beam before it was raised into place by crane.
“Good Lord, 77 years ago, Sister Paracleta and Bishop Eustace placed a written blessing and a relic of Saint Francis inside the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes,” Father Thomas prayed. “Since then, you have blessed this hospital with growth. As we do something similar today with this beam, we trust you will answer our prayers again.”
“Today we have erected the ‘bones’ of the Marvin Samson Pavilion,” he continued. “We ask you to attach the ‘muscle’ to strengthen the healing that will occur here. Then, Holy Father, put in the ‘heart’ so our staff can repair the world one patient at a time.”
A printed copy of the prayer, along with a medallion of Saint Francis, will be incorporated into the roof of the new building when complete, echoing a similar act when the hospital first opened. The Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, N.Y., led the hospital during its early years, giving special meaning to the connection with Saint Francis of Assisi.
Following the blessing, attendees signed the beam with colorful permanent markers before construction workers hoisted it into place. The beam was described as the width of a two-car garage.
“The Marvin Samson Pavilion demonstrates our commitment to the future of care in Camden and beyond,” said Virtua President and CEO Dennis W. Pullin, FACHE. “We look forward to welcoming every patient with compassion and supporting our staff and clinicians with a space that reflects their exceptional work.”
The building is named for businessman and philanthropist Marvin Samson, a Virtua board member and longtime supporter, who has pledged $5 million in support of Virtua’s education and workforce development programs. The gift is the largest in Virtua’s history. Samson is also the namesake of the Virtua Samson Cancer Center in Moorestown.
The addition will include 78 private patient rooms; 10 operating rooms, including two dynamic, hybrid operating suites; four cardiac catheterization labs; three electrophysiology labs; two gastrointestinal endoscopy rooms; 40 surgical prep and recovery rooms; a neuro-surgical stroke intervention suite; and a centralized post-anesthesia care unit with 40 private, adaptable patient bays.
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