In December 2021, tornado sirens sounded throughout Arkansas and Kentucky, and a deadly EF3 twister ripped through the Monette Manor nursing home. Inside, 67 residents huddled together under the protection of staff who shielded them with little more than mattresses, blankets and their own bodies.
When the storm receded, just one resident had died, a miracle likely made possible by solid emergency planning and preparation. But the facility, a community landmark, was destroyed. In this episode, Monette Manor Co-owner Rick Sampson talks about recovery in the tornado’s immediate aftermath and lessons learned in the 12 months since that harrowing night.
Sampson tells McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Senior Editor Kimberly Marselas how he and his team decided to rebuild the facility and about their hopes to reunite staff and, possibly, some residents when the new home opens in 2023.
