JOPLIN, Mo. —
Two events scheduled for today by Freeman Health System will honor the efforts of health care workers in the hours and days after the May 22 tornado and serve as a tribute to citywide healing, organizers say.
At 10:30 a.m., a “Tribute to Healing” ceremony will be conducted for the public next to the flagpoles at the West 32nd Street entrance to Freeman Hospital West.
“The reason we’re having this tribute to healing is we want to acknowledge all of the work of Freeman doctors and nurses, those individuals who did some outstanding work,” said Freeman spokeswoman Christen Stark. “They were working that night to save an entire community. And not just Freeman doctors. There were EMTs, physicians and nurses from throughout Joplin and across the region, even neighboring states. Part of this is a way for us to acknowledge what they did and say thank you.”
That thank-you will come during the ceremony in the form of a proclamation to be read by Joplin Mayor Mike Woolston, a letter from U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt and the planting of two evergreen trees.
One tree will honor all of the health care workers who offered their services that night, Stark said. The other is in memory of Shyrell Smith, a skilled nurse at Freeman Hospital East, and Kathy Keling, a secretary at Freeman Hospital West’s cardiology unit. Both lost their lives in the tornado.
A tree will be planted at Freeman Hospital East and another at Freeman Neosho Hospital at another time.
“We purposely chose evergreen trees because their leaves will always be present, will never die away, and that’s symbolic of Joplin’s hope for its future,” Stark said.
She said a touching moment in the ceremony is expected to come when children who were treated for injuries suffered in the tornado join with area physicians to unfurl a banner with a message of hope, while a children’s choir sings “What a Wonderful World.”
The second event will come in the form of a single spotlight directed into the sky from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. today near the cross overlooking the emergency room entrance at Freeman Hospital West.
“For so many people driving to Freeman that night — whether you were an employee, wounded, or someone trying to find your loved one — one thing that so many have noticed was it was completely dark,” said Stark. “Power lines were wiped out. But once you came down 32nd Street, Freeman was completely lit up, powered by generators, with lights streaming from the building, floodlights in the parking lots, helicopters with lights coming and going. That was literally the only source of light for, it seemed, miles.
“Many have emailed us and made comments that Freeman was like a beacon. It cut through the darkness. It’s a powerful sentiment to us.”
The hours chosen — 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. — were the darkest hours literally and figuratively, Stark said.
“Our beacon will again shine into the night,” she said. “Our hope is it has not diminished in this past month, nor will it.”
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