Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. has wrapped up a $52 million expansion of FirstLight Health System’s hospital campus in Mora, Minnesota.

As part of the 25-month-long project, the company built a pair of two-story additions and renovated 115,000 square feet of the campus. One addition includes a rehabilitation space with a therapy pool, food service kitchen, cafeteria, and inpatient pharmacy. The other houses a new emergency department, community pharmacy, ambulance garage, and fitness center.

Kraus-Anderson also constructed a one-story addition with clinical exam rooms. In addition, the company completed a series of exterior upgrades, including new parking areas and better access from Highway 65.

Duluth-based DSGW Architects designed the renovation, which includes a new main entry and commons space. Other key project elements include space for chemotherapy and infusions, along with IT and administration offices.

Originally built in 1943, FirstLight’s Mora hospital has expanded with several additions over the years – the most recent of which was built in 2007, according to Kraus-Anderson.

The hospital remained in full operation during the project, Kraus-Anderson said in a news release.

Kraus-Anderson “worked continuously with hospital staff to minimize disruption to hospital operations,” the company said.

As FirstLight’s Mora facility expands, several rural hospitals across the country have been closing their doors. In May, the Star Tribune reported that more than 100 small-town hospitals have shut down since 2010. However, Minnesota has the third-highest number of rural hospitals in the country, the newspaper reported.