Topping-off Event at Sosin Center for Rehabilitation Set for April 13

LONGMEADOW — JGS Lifecare will hold a topping-off ceremony on Wednesday, April 13 to commemorate the placement of the highest steel beam in the new Sosin Center for Rehabilitation located on the Longmeadow campus of the healthcare system serving seniors and their families.

Construction of the 24,000-square-foot Sosin Center began in June 2015. The center will include two self-contained homes for up to 12 people, designed in the small-house model of care. JGS Lifecare is partnering with the Green House Project to implement the patient-centered model of care that reduces medication use and rehospitalizations, while affording greater socialization and interaction with caregivers. The Sosin Center will be the only Green House-certified facility in Western Mass., and is set to open in September.

The April 13 program runs from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., followed by a reception. The site is located at 770 Converse St., Longmeadow. Among the expected attendees are state Rep. Brian Ashe, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, Longmeadow Town Manager Stephen Crane, Longmeadow Select Board Chairman Richard Foster, and Longmeadow Select Board member Marie Angelides.

A topping-off ceremony is a construction-industry tradition marking the moment when the crew puts the highest structural point of a building in place. In addition to signing the beam, it is also customary to put a fir tree on the beam as a sign the building will be everlasting. The American flag that was given to JGS Lifecare as a keepsake of the building’s late benefactor, George Sosin, will also be ceremoniously raised by a Longmeadow Police Department honor guard.