- An IMC worker tells his story of being in the building when the tornado hit.
- The newly renovated Infusion Center is up and running, treating up to 17 patients at once.
- The glass exterior is over halfway done.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It's been one year since the devastating tornado struck the Iberia Medical Center (IMC) in New Iberia.
Brennan LeBlanc is the director of cancer services at IMC.
"To be able to get back in here in less than a year is tremendous," LeBlanc said, "and we're so excited."
LeBlanc recalls his experience at IMC on Dec. 14, 2022, when the tornado struck.
"Immediately...we came down into the infusion center and it was--it was a lot of chaos. It had—taken a direct hit."
But that didn't stop his hardworking team who were able to safely evacuate all infusion patients.
"We had our staff, our physicians, other employees in the hospital all getting up here to help get the patients out.
The Infusion Center was relocated to IMC's main hospital, where patients received treatment for the past year.
According to LeBlanc, no one missed 'a single' infusion.
"Within the next day we were up and running again. It's incredible these patients are dealt with a very serious diagnosis and cancer. So--being able to have a second location to continue that infusion therapy was key."
After less than a year, the newly renovated Infusion Center is up and running, with room to treat one more person than before (total number of chairs = 17).
"It's a testament to our hospital, to our community, to our employees...The resiliancy of our staff."
President and CEO Dionne Viator has dealt with more of the business-side of the reconstruction process.
"Because there was no statewide emergency declared we received no federal or state funding for the repair of the building," Viator explained. "However we had appropriate insurance."
She says the cost of damages was around $10 million.
"We have restored the majority of the glass. We've had it custom-made three times stronger than it was before. The roof on the building is now meeting current hurricane codes. So everything we've done we've done with an eye to 'how can we be better and stronger moving forward?'"
Iberia Medical Center plans to hold a grand reopening sometime in the spring.
