New London — People gathered at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital at the emergency department construction site Wednesday for a ceremony to place a time capsule in a wall located in what will be the patient waiting area.

Items in the capsule are from the last three years when the construction project began and the hospital had its first COVID-19 patient.  Those include a box of surgical masks, an N95 mask, empty vials of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, hand sanitizer, COVID-19 tests and other medical items. Also included was a USB flash drive containing news releases, employee newsletters, annual reports, photos, videos and other digital items, and a special message for the people who open the capsule. 

The capsule will be opened March 18, 2070, exactly 50 years from the day that L+M admitted its first COVID-19-positive patient.

A/Z Corporation of North Stonington is providing construction management services to the hospital for the project.