Many staff members and Pana residents came together Thursday afternoon to celebrate the groundbreaking of a $20.1 million dollar addition and renovation project to Pana Community Hospital.

The project will include a patient services addition to the back of the hospital, an addition to the main entrance to the hospital, and renovations to the basement, first floor, and third floor of the building. It is the biggest construction project Pana Community Hospital has taken on since 1976.

Hospital CEO Trina Casner says this project has been in the works for five years.

Casner says with the addition to the main entrance to the hospital, the entrance will be handicap accessible.

The biggest addition will be in the back of the building, where Casner says several departments and hospital functions will be housed in the new addition.

The project is broken down into two phases. The first phase, the big addition to the back of the building and basement and third floor renovations, are expected to be completed next summer, with the main entrance and first floor renovations beginning once those projects are completed. The entire project is expected to be completed by March of 2019.