Hospitals put disaster plans in operation

NOTE: In 1972, Rapid City was served by two hospitals, Bennett-Clarkson on Mountain View Road and St. John’s McNamara on 11th Street. (Later they merged into what is now Monument Health. Bennett-Clarkson is now the Behavioral Health Center.) Despite difficult obstacles in the wake of the June 9-10 flood, the doctors and nurses at both hospitals continued to care for patients. Below is an account from the June 26, 1972, Rapid City Journal.

By Harold Higgins
Journal Staff Writer

When flood waters roared through Rapid City on the night of June 9, medical facilities and personnel put disaster plans into effect to care for patients and flood victims.

Bennett-Clarkson Hospital, which is located near Rapid Creek, was quickly rendered inoperable as flood water rose.

All personnel at Bennett-Clarkson evacuated to the second and third floors of the building when flood waters filled the basement and flowed into the first floor at 11:30 p.m. All sanitation, emergency power facilities and telephones were useless. The hospital was isolated from outside help.

Dr. Wenzel Kovarik, Dr. William Janss and several nurses used flashlights and lanterns to help care for the 90 patients in the hospital.

All laboratory facilities, worth an estimated $150,000, were submerged in the basement with the boiler, air conditioning unit, refrigerating units, most of the medical and surgical supplies, and linen. On the first floor, the kitchen, administrative offices, and X-ray units were out of commission.

At St. John’s McNamara Hospital, news of the intensity of the flood brought implementation of a carefully practiced disaster plan.

Hospital administrators, doctors, technicians and nurses started going to the hospital. Dr. Roger Millea got caught in the flood waters on his way to the hospital. He and friends floated in his car on Main Street near the School of Mines until 3 a.m. Millea was finally able to get to the hospital by 8 a.m.

Other doctors and nurses had their homes and families caught up in the rushing flood water. Some staff lived on the west side of the gap and couldn’t get across until later Saturday.

Nan Hoffman, director of nursing at St. Johns, arrived about midnight. She said, “At about 12:30 or 1 a.m. the gas company called to inform us that the main gas line supply to the emergency generator had been cut off and the supply of gas would dwindle shortly.” Ten minutes later the hospital was in darkness and without power. This meant X-ray units, elevators and dozens of other pieces of electrical-powered equipment were nonfunctional. Patients had to be carried up stairways on stretchers.

Nurses and doctors sewed cuts, gave IV’s and mended fractures by the light of flashlights, lanterns and candles hastily taken from the chapel.

Mattresses were put in the halls, and 56 mattresses were taken to the School of Nursing across the street. Patients with minor injuries, emotional shock, and homeless families were sent to the School of Nursing where nurses and student nurses kept them under surveillance and gave them needed aid.

A “disaster pool” for incoming patients was set up in the cafeteria. Victims straggled in five and six at a time. Most of the people were in shock. Several were badly burned. And there were numerous laceration and puncture wounds.

At 4 a.m. power was restored and the lights were turned on. Also, about this time, Sister Sarto, chief administrator at St. John’s, arrived at the hospital. She has been trying to get into the city all night but was blocked by flooded roads.

One of her first orders was to fill all the tubs and basins with tap water before the city water supply was contaminated. A liaison officer from Ellsworth AFB said they would bring 2,000 gallons of water, and a truck from Northwestern Engineering Co. was on the way with more fresh water. Sister Sarto said the hospital uses about 4,000-4,500 gallons of water a day.

From 11 p.m. Friday until noon Tuesday, St. John’s treated and released 382 patients, had two deaths and accepted 29 patients from Bennett-Clarkson Hospital.

When Bennett-Clarkson administrator Ray Wendling got to the flooded hospital on Mountain View Road at 5:30 a.m. Saturday, the parking lot was filled with mud and debris. There was 1-2 inches of mud on the first floor, and the basement was filled with water and mud.

Wendling decided early in the morning that the 90 patients at Bennett-Clarkson would have to be evacuated. Too many of the facilities were out of order to give proper care to patients.

At approximately 7:30 a.m. Mayor Barnett arrived at the hospital. The decision of administrators and doctors was to let 30 patients go home, continue care for 30 at the Rapid City Rehabilitation Center, St. John’s Hospital or Ellsworth AFB Hospital, and to provide a lesser degree of care for 30 patients at one of the three locations. They made arrangements to take 20 patients to St. John’s, 25-35 to Ellsworth AFB and rest to the Rehabilitation Center.

The loss at Bennett-Clarkson Hospital, as assessed by Federal and State Health officials, was near $778,000. The basement has been pumped and clean, and Bennett-Clarkson started admitting patients Tuesday morning.

By 7 a.m. Saturday morning, June 10, none of the hospitals had performed emergency surgery, although two babies were born at St. John’s.