According to the National Weather Service, the tornado touched down around 8:20 p.m., causing damage to at least 150 homes and major damage to the hospital.
Southeast Health evacuated 22 patients from patient rooms and the emergency department because of the storm, Shauna Hoffman, the hospital’s vice president of marketing and business development, said in a statement shared with Becker’s. No patients or staff were injured, and the Stoddard County EMS Service was not affected, she said.
Ms. Hoffman said the center is temporarily closed while damage is being assessed, including to power and gas lines, windows and glass doors, the roof and an outer wall behind the facility.
The hospital said it will try to reopen the emergency department this week. Meanwhile, it is encouraging people in the Dexter area in need of emergency care to go to the closest emergency rooms — in Poplar Bluff and Sikeston, Mo., both about 20 miles away.
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