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Fort Scottians jump in to help victims of tornado
Fort Scott residents, emergency personnel and Mercy Health Center are banding together to help victims of Sunday's devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo.
Monday morning, Richard Goldston, financial advisor with Edward Jones investment firm in Fort Scott, said he told his staff they were shutting down and going to Joplin on Tuesday. Edward Jones lost two offices in Joplin as a result of the storm, which struck at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
At least 116 people died, making it the nation's deadliest single tornado in nearly 60 years and the second major tornado disaster in a month. An unknown number of people were hurt, the Associated Press reported.
Initially, Goldston said he was going to put as many items as possible into his Suburban and head southeast. But by Monday afternoon, the Suburban had been replaced with a 53-foot semi-trailer. Needed are non-perishable food and personal hygiene items. "This just provided the people of Fort Scott with the avenue," Goldston said. "They wanted to do it."
Along with the many homes and businesses destroyed, St. John's Regional Medical Center, which is affiliated with Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott, took a direct hit, according to a news release.
The most recent report said 183 patients were evacuated from St. John's Regional as of about 11 p.m. Sunday. It is unknown at this time how many of the patients were injured as a result of the tornado.
From Fort Scott, seven physicians, 21 patient care staff members and three maintenance people were mobilized Sunday evening. From Independence, numerous physicians, nurses, medical supplies and the Emergency Preparedness trailer were sent to Joplin, the release said.
Mercy Health Center President and CEO Reta Baker said she first got notice of the storm about 6:20 p.m. Sunday. Baker said hospital officials immediately responded to their sister hospital to identify the extent of the damage. "We had a tremendous response from physicians and staff calling in and offering to go to Joplin so we organized some groups to go," she said. "We also responded by sending supplies that were requested and sending them down to the Joplin area. All of our people who responded to Joplin were fully engaged and assigned tasks to complete and worked through the night to assist and support Joplin.
"The hospital had to be completely evacuated and it is not usable," Baker said. "We do have engineers going in this afternoon (Monday) to determine whether it will be repairable" or not.
She said one physician who had recently returned from the affected area described it as a "war zone" with "devastation and loss almost beyond imagination." A number of Mercy caregivers themselves were injured. Their selfless efforts put their patients first and resulted in a timely and orderly evacuation.
In spite of these heroic efforts, a news release said, "Mercy is saddened to confirm that five patients lost their lives. The families of the patients have been notified. In addition, an unidentified visitor was among those who perished. Authorities have been working to determine the identity of the visitor and to notify the family."
More information can be found at Mercy.net and donations are also being taken at that address.
St. John's Hospital in Springfield received 40 patients from the Joplin area. Mercy Health Center here has not received any patients yet. "However, we were contacted early this afternoon to see how many patients we could take, so we anticipate taking some," Baker said.
Executive Director of the Bourbon County Chapter of the American Red Cross Whendi Martin said what will get to Joplin victims fastest is money. Right now, the city doesn't have the infrastructure to take in semi-trailers of supplies.
The agency is asking specifically for over-the-counter medication such as Tylenol, aspirin, Band-Aids and Neosporin. Personal hygiene items such as deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, baby wipes, face wipes, hand sanitizer, baby products, diapers and non-perishable food are also needed.
"We sent off $1,000 today from right here in Fort Scott," Martin said. "It's incredible. That's the best thing we can get to Red Cross workers right now so they can feed and shelter (people) and make sure search and rescue workers have drinks. Once the infrastructure is built back up and they have some logistics in place, we can send ... stuff down to help people rebuild their lives."
Martin said this is going to be a long recovery. "While we're all jumping to arms right now, we are certainly going to need to help those people for some time to come," she said.
A blood drive is already scheduled for June 15-16 in Fort Scott. Regular donors can only give blood every 56 days for health reasons. If there are blood drives coming up nearby sooner, Martin said the public will be notified so they can help out.
Martin said the Red Cross' texting program has been implemented again. Anyone who uses a cell phone can text the word redcross -- all one word -- to 90999 and a $10 donation will be sent to the Joplin tornado victims. The contribution will be added to your cell phone bill and the entire $10 goes to Red Cross tornado relief, Martin said.
She said Red Cross teams stand ready for deployment when called.
Martin lauded the community for its willingness to help and said she'd heard a number of stories of groups and individuals collecting supplies. "I've just heard all day long about a huge, sympathetic outpouring. It's not that we've been untouched. I've heard of several community members who have lost loved ones. Our hearts go out to them," she said.
She added that Fort Scott was "very fortunate" to be spared from the storm because other surrounding counties were hit with severe weather Saturday, and conditions that spawned the Joplin tornado were scheduled to come here.
Resident Rebecca Cagle, along with friends and coworkers, has designated two drop-off points for contributions -- Healing Hands Massage & Salon, 117 E. National Ave., and 314 N. Jefferson.
"It hit so close to home," Cagle said, adding she had family and friends affected. Everyone she contacted is OK, but she's been told "there's nothing down there. Everybody's lost everything.
"We're so close to Joplin. ... I think it's hit home for everybody."