![]() ![]() ![]() By the morning of May 29, 2011, less than one full week after the tornado hit, with assistance from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and the Missouri Disaster Medical Team, an inflatable 60-bed hospital had been transported from the Branson, Mo., area and set up just east of the destroyed Mercy-Joplin hospital. The Taney County, Mo., ambulance district had purchased a mobile medical unit or “field hospital” with a Missouri Homeland Security grant. The debris had barely settled early in the week following May 22, but Mercy leadership had already identified a way to get hospital services re-established. What follows is a brief chronicle of the phases of recovery of Mercy Joplin – now widely termed “Mercy Rising.” From makeshift clinic space in tents in Memorial Hall and an inflatable MASH hospital to the groundbreaking for the permanent replacement hospital, these commitments on the part of Mercy, its coworkers and physicians have provided not only much needed health care services and facilities, but also a significant boost for the morale of this devastated community. Work began immediately on reestablishment of physician and hospital services by Mercy Joplin. One can only imagine how devastating it would have been for the community and the individuals if they had lost not only their loved ones, friends and their homes, but also their jobs. More than that, they would continue paying normal wages to coworkers and maintain physician compensation at pre-tornado levels. Immediately after the disaster, Mercy Health publicly announced that they were committed to rebuilding the hospital. No less remarkable has been the commitment by Mercy Health (the parent company of Mercy Joplin) to support its co-workers, physicians and the community during this disaster. The resiliency and determination of the Joplin community and the recovery efforts in the first days, weeks and months are now legendary. Mercy Joplin after a direct hit of an EF-5 tornado on May 22, 2011. As tragic as the devastation was, it was miraculous that only five hospital patients and one visitor lost their lives. Included in this mayhem was the story of Mercy Joplin and how 183 patients and untold number of visitors were heroically evacuated in 90 minutes via dark stairwells, amid spewing water pipes and with gas fumes filling the building. In the end, there were 161 fatalities, over 1,000 injured, 8,000 homes and businesses damaged or destroyed, and over $2 billion in damage. The rest of the country watched in horror as the news channels broadcast nonstop coverage of mass casualties, the search for the missing and dead, and the destruction of homes, business and lives. The death and destruction caused by the deadliest single tornado in Missouri’s history was indescribable. Mercy Joplin sustained a direct and devastating hit by an EF 5 Tornado that cut a mile wide path of devastation across the densely populated south central part of Joplin. A mere 24 minutes later the unthinkable happened. on May 22 the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for the Joplin area. There were storms brewing in southeast Kansas and severe weather watches, but that is par for the course for late spring in “Tornado Alley.” John’s Regional Medical Center (Mercy Joplin). May 22, 2011, started out as a not too unusual Sunday afternoon in Joplin, Mo families playing in the park, high school graduation underway at the football stadium, bustling emergency departments at the local hospitals, and an emergency orthopedic case in progress at St. You may have forgotten the date, but we all remember the event. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |