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Local Medical Providers Go Above and Beyond in Response to Mapleton Tornado


What started out as an ordinary Saturday evening for Dr. Curt Hesse and the people of Mapleton, ended with devastation and destruction as a tornado tore through much of the community. Minutes after the tornado swept through the town, Dr. Hesse, of Horn Physicians Clinic (HPC), headed directly to the MVAO High School where he knew 300-400 people would be in attendance for the High School play that was scheduled for the evening. Expecting potential mass casualties and a long night ahead of him, Dr. Hesse was relieved to find the people at the school were shaken up, but without injury. He then forged forward to HPC - where he found no visible damage to the building. He and his nurse, Christina Davis, also of Mapleton, were in contact via cell phone and both had the same thing on their mind: "Get to the clinic to get medical supplies ready for the people who were likely in need of medical assistance."

Dr. Hesse recounts that upon arrival, triage had already begun at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 141. "There must have been 20 ambulances here, and everyone responded so quickly, it was just amazing. They brought in generators because we had no light. We ended up treating only 2 minor injuries: A gal who sought shelter in a nearby ditch because she didn't have a basement presented with debris in her eyes. We irrigated out her eyes and she was shaken up, but fine. The other gentleman we treated was watching the tornado from outside of town and got hit with a hail stone the size of a baseball and got a laceration on his head, so we took care of that."

The team work throughout the event was outstanding. Nurses, Physician Assistants and Nurse Practioners from the Burgess Clinic in Mapleton joined forces with Horn Physicians Clinic to offer medical treatment out of the HPC office, which is located within the block of where the triage unit was stationed. The clinic crew stayed until 12:30 a.m. and Dr. Hesse remained on call throughout the night and into Sunday for anyone seeking medical treatment as the clean up began.

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1. Mapleton

412 Main Street
Mapleton, IA 51034
712-364-3311

2. Ida Grove

701 East Second Street
Ida Grove, IA 51445
712-364-3311

3. Odebolt

300 South Maple
Odebolt, IA 51458
712-364-3311