Carilion Clinic celebrated the completion of a four-year, $105 million project to consolidate two hospitals Friday morning with a dedication ceremony and tour.

Most in-patient services will move from Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital to an expanded Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, which Carilion says is now the second-largest hospital in Virginia.

Soon, the old Community Hospital will house the Jefferson College of Health Sciences. But its emergency room will remain open.

"It's an enormous testimony to the people we have here," Carilion President and CEO Dr. Edward Murphy said about the project's completion. Carilion is the area's largest employer with a total of 10,529 employees in 2006. And, "It's pretty cool," he added.

Inside the hospital's gleaming teal windows, there are new units for women and children's health that will open the week of Sept. 17. There is a new labor and delivery suite, a unit specially designed for women's care, as well as the region's only Level III neonatal intensive care unit and pediatric intensive care unit, according to Carilion.

Carilion's in-house designer, Jim Bohn, created special features for the pediatric and women's facilities.

Rainbow lights appear over the elevators on the pediatric floor, which is decorated with colorful tiles, photos of children and lights covered by bright purple, blue, red and green marbles.

"We try to make it comfortable for them," Carilion Child Life Specialist Jill Hamilton said. She emphasized the importance of stimulating children so they don't get depressed about their illnesses.

Each of the 32 pediatric rooms is equipped with a PlayStation2, and a teen room contains a 42-inch plasma television, a jukebox with 500 CDs, another PlayStation2, two computers and an auto-racing machine.

Donna Sams, the director of women's services, described the serene spa environment of the labor and delivery suite, where officials expect more than 3,400 births next year.

Other renovations include an increased parking area, a new cafeteria and an expanded 100,000-square-foot emergency department that will care for 75,000 to 90,000 patients each year in the 60-bed unit.

The total addition comes to 300,000 square feet, which includes five stories on top of the south tower and expansions in the emergency department and the front of the building, according to Carilion spokesman Eric Earnhart.

Carilion announced the expansion in October 2003, and noted logistical and financial reasons for consolidating the hospitals.

The cost to renovate and upgrade Community Hospital and build a new facility for the Jefferson College of Health Sciences was estimated at $88 million, Earnhart said. It made financial sense to expand Roanoke Memorial because the consolidation would save about $4.7 million per year by eliminating duplicate services.

During the ceremony, several speakers talked about Carilion's energy and commitment to innovation.

Employees have been working on site preparation for a Carilion Clinic outpatient facility on the corner of Jefferson Street and Reserve Avenue that will break ground later this year. Carilion also expects to break ground on a medical school and research institute, in partnership with Virginia Tech, early next year, Earnhart said.

Murphy addressed the strains of treating patients in the middle of a construction zone for the past four years. He acknowledged that some had experienced excessive waits for emergency room services.

Earnhart talked about how the community has had to put up with a lot during Carilion's construction and said that was a major reason Carilion decided to organize a celebration called RiverFest on Saturday. "It's our way of saying thanks for putting up with us," he said.

"The community that we serve is the reason we are here," Murphy added.