Vol. 11, Issue 4

Diagnostica Stago Responds to Joplin Tornado

On May 22, 2011, St. John's Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri, along with a significant portion of the surrounding community, was besieged by a powerful and deadly EF-5 tornado. Although the St. John's staff was trained to respond to "code grey" alarms, the tornado's strength was far beyond anyone's expectations for the area. Patient safety was a top priority as the winds tore the hospital apart and flying debris turned into dangerous shrapnel.

In the wake of the tornado's destruction, the building was in ruins, and the hospital suffered six casualties, mostly due to respiratory failure when the power went out and the backup generator was ripped from the roof. Every floor, and every department, suffered damage, yet hospital staff had no time to survey the damage as they quickly regrouped to evacuate and care for existing patients and prepare for substantial incoming injuries sustained elsewhere in Joplin.

Pictures of the destruction in Joplin the week following a deadly EF5 tornado. Image and caption courtesy of KY3 News, Springfield, MO.

Tents were erected to triage and care for the injured and sick with the limited supplies that the hospital could find. Meanwhile, while listening to news coverage, Don Vierling, Diagnostica Stago's warehouse shipping supervisor in Mount Olive, New Jersey, recognized St. John's as a Stago customer and alerted senior management. At around the same time, local Account Manager Greg Goodwin made contact with St. John's Coagulation Supervisor to see how Stago could help.

Help was indeed needed, and Diagnostica Stago quickly responded. An STA Compact^® Hemostasis Analyzer was processed and shipped immediately, and six months of reagents were donated. Dave Lane, Director of Supply Chain and Sales Administration contacted Jeff Rossier President of Trade Show Technologies, who agreed to donate the truck and driver to deliver the STA Compact to St Johns hospital.

Stago field personnel coordinated the STA Compact installation on-site at St. John's makeshift hospital, and worked with other local hospitals to procure correlation samples needed for method validation. Stago's Field Service Engineer Debbie Hayden, noted during the installation process, "Although the area resembled a war zone, with nothing but small piles of rubble where houses stood and trees completely absent of leaves as far as the eye can see, everyone in the lab seemed to be in good spirits."

Within two weeks of the disastrous tornado - including shipping, installation and method validation - St. John's Medical Center was reporting hemostasis results, and continues patient care while looking to rebuild in a new location.

In addition to the corporate response, Stago employees responded on a personal level. One such example is Stago's Regional Support Engineer Doug Attaway. He and his family volunteered at their McKinney, Texas church, collecting supplies and non-perishable food for the Joplin community. Their collections filled a tractor-trailer, and Doug and other volunteers drove from McKinney to Joplin to deliver the supplies and lend a hand.

Diagnostica Stago CEO, Dr. Stephane Zamia, noted that the team effort, volunteering, and quick response, "reflects more than anything else, our company values."