When a tornado struck New Iberia, La. in December 2022 one of the many damaged buildings was the Iberia Medical Center. Numerous windows were blown out, projecting dangerous glass shards into the hospital. Amazingly, only five people were injured at the hospital, none of them seriously. The event was yet another reminder of how foul weather events can dramatically impact hospitals, its patients and employees. In 2018 Hurricane Michael, a rare Category 5 storm that struck Florida’s panhandle, damaged nine hospitals so badly they were forced to close. Damage to the buildings included destroyed roofs, buckled walls and shattered windows. On May 22, 2011, five people died and many were injured at St. John’s Hospital in Joplin, Mo., when a vicious tornado struck the town. Flying glass was the main cause of a number of the injuries at the hospital. Considering the enormous importance of always safe and functioning health care facilities are to communities, hospital...
