The temporary, modular building is located just east of the site of St. At first, clinicians provided emergency first aid and triage in Joplin community buildings, next the staff moved to hospital tents and then to a temporary hospital, made up of 224 modular units welded together and finished on site. In the midst of widespread devastation, Mercy had patient services up and running within hours of the storm. Five patients, who had been in critical condition, and one visitor at St. Staff and first responders scrambled around in the chaotic wreckage to evacuate patients to safety. The hospital looked like it had been hit by a bomb. The tornado ripped away an emergency generator. Nurses and technicians threw their bodies over patients to shield them from flying glass shards and lit evacuation routes with the flashlight features on their cell phones after the power failed. The hospital took a direct hit from the tornado, windows exploded and parts of the roof peeled away. The multiple-vortex tornado, at least a half mile wide with winds estimated at 200 miles an hour, powered its way from Joplin's western edge to the eastern city limits and continued on to rural Jasper and Newton counties. Today, an open air chapel stands on the site of the former hospital. The hospital, seen in the background, took a direct hit and was later demolished. The tornado that tore through Joplin, Mo., on May 22, 2011, claimed 161 lives including six at St. Many in the community credit Mercy's commitment to Joplin as a constant reassurance in a time of uncertainty. Though many times communities lose residents following a natural disaster, the population of Joplin has remained stable at roughly 50,000 residents. "With Mercy getting ready to reopen, that's a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel," she said. John's in Joplin and said the hospital reopening will mark a milestone for the city. She lives just blocks from where the former hospital used to stand. The soil in her yard was being replaced during a recent visit, part of a lead remediation project in a neighborhood where homes crumpled and blew to pieces in the storm. Even today, it's a struggle," said Tammy Comer, 52, from her family room in a new home. Despite reposted street signs, parts of the city can be difficult to navigate due to some new roads and addresses. The few mature trees that survived the storm appear wind ravaged and gnarled. New homes and houses under construction stand alongside cleared lots. A typical residential street in the storm zone shows renewal and signs of lingering destruction. The operating room allows for high level imaging, minimally invasive procedures and open surgical procedures. Mercy's Executive Director of Strategic Projects John Farnen shows the features of a hybrid operating room during a preview tour of the new Mercy Hospital Joplin.
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