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All residents and staff who were in a Mayfield nursing home on the way to Friday’s tornado survived the building’s complete destruction. Management says this is both a miracle and a testament to the staff’s swift action.
Mayfield Health and Rehabilitation staff had about 30 minutes between the warning and the tornado that hit the one-story building on Indiana Avenue just before 10 p.m. Central time.
Mick Vujanović, COO of ClearView Healthcare Management, the facility’s parent company, said staff quickly followed through on plans to bring the 74 residents to safety.
“What is miraculous is that if you see photos of the building, the building has been completely leveled, completely destroyed. “ Vujanović said. “There are collapsed ceilings in the residents’ rooms and hallways. There are pictures of beds with bricks strewn over them where probably 30 minutes ago residents slept in those beds.
As soon as the storm has passed, Vujanović said staff have gone into recovery mode. Staff from the area, including from Louisville, came to help lift residents out of the wreckage, traveling by bus through debris-covered streets in a city with no lights or electricity.
“It was a monumental task,” said Vujanović.
And by the morning, local staff – many of whom had suffered heavy personal losses – were back to help.
“There were staff members who had lost family members 12 hours earlier trying to secure the property of the residents they were caring for,” Vujanović said. “It’s remarkable the kind of dedication people show in the health field. “
He said the company was working to provide direct resources to some 80 staff at the now devastated facility. They will have guaranteed shifts during the holidays, and ClearView intends to keep every staff member at neighboring sister facilities after that.
“I want to take care of everyone who was part of the Mayfield community,” he said. “And we will find a place for each of them.”
