SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — The Avera Health Campus really took a hit from one of the three Sioux Falls tornadoes.
Officials say the Heart Hospital, the Behavioral Health Hospital, the Sports Dome, even the corporate offices were damaged. The hardest hit was Behavioral Health.
“We are going to have to have an intermediate plan here. The Behavioral Health Hospital probably will not be open for another three to six months,” says Avera McKennon CEO, David Flicek. He says they’re looking to find temporary homes for dozens of patients.
But there was a light in the darkness of the storm at Avera. Doctors kept working.
“In the middle of the tornado, we had a patient who had a severe cardiac event and had his life saved right in the middle of the tornado,” says Flicek.
Avera, a Catholic institution, retains its faith.
“Faith is like a bright ray of sunlight. It enables us to see God in all things as well as all things in God.” – that quote from St. Francis de Sales was on Avera’s Facebook on Wednesday.
