Engineers go into Joplin hospital to assess damage
NewsCentral Staff
Story Created:
May 25, 2011 at 5:18 PM EDT
Story Updated:
May 25, 2011 at 5:18 PM EDT
JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - Structural engineers are going into the battered hospital in Joplin on Wednesday to see whether the nine-story building where five people died in the storm is salvageable.
If it's not, administrators say they will rebuild. Sisters of Mercy Health Systems chief executive Lynn Britton says he's confident the company can remake St. John's into "one of the best hospital facilities assembled to care for the people of Joplin."
But he and others have a long road ahead. St John's president and chief executive Gary Pulsipher told reporters it looked like a bomb went off on every floor.
But Britton says patient information is safe. He says the hospital began using electronic records in May, so although paperwork may have been swept away, the data is secure.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Most Popular