Joplin Hospital Honors Anniversary of Deadly EF5 Tornado

What:

"Morning Has Broken" service at Freeman Health System in Joplin, Mo., honoring one year anniversary of the deadly May 22, 2011, tornado. Service will include address from Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and a young victim of the storm.

When:

7:30 am CDT

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Where:

Freeman Hospital West

Hilltop parking lot

1102 West 32nd Street

Joplin, Mo.

Background:

Freeman Health System, the only fully functional hospital in Joplin following a deadly EF5 tornado that killed 161 people on May 22, 2011, will celebrate the lives of tornado survivors, honor the memory of victims, and pay tribute to the heroic efforts of Freeman employees and caregivers throughout the community—ordinary people who performed extraordinary deeds. As morning breaks over Joplin, a local church choir will sing inspirational hymns while sky lanterns are released in memory of those killed.

Gov. Nixon will speak at the service, as will survivor Malachi Murdock and his mother, Susan Murdock. Malachi graduated from high school only two weeks prior to the May 22, 2011, tornado. He had finished a performance at Stained Glass Theatre when the storm ripped apart the building, killing three and inflicting Malachi with nearly fatal wounds.

Malachi was among the more than 500 wounded persons treated at Freeman Hospital West in the first hours after the storm. As the days progressed, more than 1,700 victims of the tornado would seek care from Freeman. That evening, 110 Freeman physicians and 347 nurses reported to duty, performing 22 lifesaving surgeries in 12 hours.

Freeman will pay special tribute to all healthcare workers who fought to save this community, as well as those whose lives have been forever touched by the winds of that storm.