COZAD, NE – Residents in southwest Dawson County were woken up in the early morning hours Saturday, June 29th as a severe thunderstorm with large and destructive hail made its way through the area.
In its wake was extensive damage to homes, vehicles, businesses and many crops.
Among the structures damaged in the storm was Cozad Community Health System’s Hospital, forcing them to divert patients to other hospitals in surrounding communities for a portion of Saturday morning.
CCHS Chief Executive Officer Robert Dyer spoke with the RRN and gave an update on the damages to the hospital building.
Dyer says they decided to divert patients for a short time this morning so they could assess the damage to the building.
Dyer adds the newly constructed inpatient wing did not have any damage to it, and the patients in that wing fortunately slept through the entire storm.
Dyer says a roofing company helped shortly after the storm to remove water from the roof and make temporary repairs until the appropriate materials arrive. A cleaning service was on site to help with water control and mitigation inside the building.
Any visitors to the hospital should use the east entrance of the hospital though the specialty clinic for the time being if they plan to visit loved ones.
As for the other CCHS locations: the Cozad Medical Clinic only sustained damages to the siding, the physical therapy building lost power for a time, and Meadowlark Pointe had severe damage to the siding and some damages to the roof.
