County gives emergency aid to Greenfield
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An EF-4 tornado ripped through the town of Greenfield last Tuesday afternoon, with peak winds reaching 185 mph, leaving a path of destruction roughly 1000 yards wide and 44 miles long.
“Lives have been lost and many will be forever altered,” stated Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater on the evening of May 21, “The manpower and resources of the State of Iowa have been unbelievable. Thus far, I’ve seen nothing but absolute cooperation between everyone…..everyone of all walks of life from the homeowner, a concerned citizen or a volunteer fireman from three counties away.”
Adair County Hospital was evacuated due to damage sustained by the tornado, and all patients were transported to other nearby hospitals for care.
Ringgold County Hospital (RCH) responded to multiple calls to send all available assistance.
Nicky Gilbertson, RCH CEO, got a call from the Adair County Health System CEO requesting help, as she was delayed in getting to the off-site incident command center.
“Ringgold County Hospital is committed to supporting Adair County Hospital and the city of Greenfield in the aftermath of the recent tornado,” said Gilbertson, “We dispatched a team of EMS, paramedic, and nursing staff along with two ambulances to assist in the emergency response efforts.”
Adam Kaster, a paramedic at RCH, Maggie Hall, EMT and Gilbertson arrived at the scene in the first ambulance.
Another team of three nurses and a second paramedic took a separate ambulance to Greenfield to assist with search and rescue transportation.
When Kaster arrived, he dropped Gilbertson off at the command center location, picked up a patient, and transported them to another hospital for care.
“Our priority was to provide immediate medical aid and support to the affected community,” Gilbertson noted, “Together, we are/were dedicated to ensuring the health and safety of all residents during this challenging time.”
When Kaster returned to the command center, ambulances were lined up around a large parking lot roughly five blocks from Adair County Hospital.
The medical incident commander and a staging officer were working together to pair patients needing assistance with available EMS providers.
Ambulances that were actively treating people for injuries had their lights on. If an EMS team was not actively helping someone, they kept the ambulance lights off.
“There was debris everywhere,” said Kaster, “I ended up helping move medical supplies to the school.”
The Adair County Health Foundation is organizing a fund drive to help assist the hospital, employees, and the community to recover.
Mount Ayr Record News sports writer, Ryan Stonebraker, a relatively new resident of Greenfield, emerged from safety after sheltering from the tornado, to find widespread damage across the community.
While Ryan and his wife Melinda were safe, at least 5 deaths and 35 injuries had been reported as of Saturday, May 25.
“We were lucky and didn’t have damage, but we know a lot that did,” Ryan stated, “It’s a little [too much] to see/take in.”
