Joplin
Tornado shelters should be installed in nursing homes, government agency recommends in report on Joplin disaster
April 04, 2014The deadly tornado that destroyed a Missouri nursing home three years ago showed that long-term care facilities need to have specially designed shelter areas, says a recently released government report. The one-story, wood-frame Greenbriar Nursing Home structure — built in the mid-1960s — was totally leveled, the report states. Workers and residents followed protocol by sheltering in inner hallways to avoid flying glass, the NIST found. However, the attempt to remain safe was futile.
HHS awards $352 million to providers for disaster preparedness
July 06, 2011The Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that it is awarding $352 million in grant money to help healthcare providers improve disaster preparedness efforts.
Mentally ill need more consideration in disaster preparedness efforts, researchers say
May 26, 2011When planning disaster-response programs, organizers often overlook the needs of individuals with mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, addiction and bipolar disorder, bioethicists say.
Nursing home residents dead after Missouri tornado
May 25, 2011At least 10 nursing home residents and one employee were killed in a Sunday tornado that hit Joplin, MO. The storm killed at least 117 people, and may have caused up to $3 billion in insured losses to 10,000 buildings, according to a preliminary estimate released Tuesday by Eqecat Inc.
