WHAT: Groundbreaking ceremony for the new UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Tower at UPMC Mercy. The UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Tower, expected to open in late 2022, is being designed for the many patients in the Pittsburgh region and beyond who need physical rehabilitation and those who have diseases of the eye or vision impairment. Highlights of the new nine-story tower will include: 410,000-square-feet of collaborative space for clinicians, researchers, educators and industry partners. State-of-the-art facility to deliver gene and cell therapy to the eye. Innovative, fully mocked-up apartment where patients can relearn critical life skills. A 3-D street lab with simulated city streets, offices and meeting rooms to help patients with low vision navigate their surroundings. Other areas in the building will include exam rooms, an optical shop, a pharmacy, therapy stations and a UPMC Center for Rehab Services gym. Training ramps and stairs in a healing garden on the roof terrace will offer patients a safe environment in which to prepare for real-life experiences. The UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Tower is one of three facilities being built as part of UPMC’s $2 billion investment in specialty care. These new facilities will add to UPMC’s breadth of advanced specialty care for patients at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Architecture firm HOK, based in New York and Washington, D.C., designed the new tower, which will be built by Mascaro – Barton Malow. WHO: Jeffrey A. Romoff, president and chief executive officer, UPMC The Most Reverend David Zubik, Bishop, Diocese of Pittsburgh Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County Executive Michael Grace, president, UPMC Mercy José-Alain Sahel, M.D., director, UPMC Eye Center Gwendolyn Sowa, M.D., Ph.D., director, UPMC Rehabilitation Institute WHEN: 10:30 a.m., Thursday, March 14 WHERE: UPMC Mercy, 1400 Locust St., Pittsburgh, 15219.