St. Edward Mercy hosts Joplin tornado donation drive

St. Edward Mercy in Fort Smith is preparing to accept donations for victims of the tornado in Joplin, Mo.

The tornado severely damaged St. John’s Regional Health Center. Like St. Edward Mercy in Fort Smith and Mercy of Northwest Arkansas in Rogers, St. John’s Regional Health Center in Joplin is one of 28 Sisters of Mercy hospitals in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. The Joplin hospital is very similar to St. Edward Mercy. They both have more than 360 beds and employ around 2,000 people.

“It’s very easy for us at St. Edward Mercy to put ourselves in their shoes,” Jeff Johnston, St. Edward Mercy president/CEO, said in a statement. “We have had so many co-workers as well as others in the community asking how they can help. We wanted to provide a way for people to offer support to our Mercy co-workers and others affected by this terrible tragedy.”

The trailer donated by USA Truck, and a U-Pack cube donated by ABF, will be set up to receive donations on the northeast corner of the St. Edward campus at 7301 Rogers Ave. in Fort Smith. Donated items will be delivered to Joplin and distributed among Mercy co-workers and their families as well as other residents who lost everything in the tornado yesterday.

Hospital officials seek donations of the following new survival items at this time: Bottled water, canned food items, and camping supplies like tents, sleeping bags (waterproof is good), flashlights with batteries, portable radios with batteries, blankets, sleeping mats, and personal hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair brushes and combs, hand sanitized wipes, etc.

Donations will be accepted between the hours of 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday this week.