BY ANDY TAYLOR

(Updated at 7:30 p.m., Monday)

Montgomery County’s emergency personnel and various organizations are responding to the tornado that devastated a large portion of the Joplin, Mo., community on Sunday evening.

More than 20 employees of Mercy Hospital in Independence were dispatched to Joplin on Sunday night, said Joanne Cox, Mercy spokesperson. Among the 20 employees were 12 nurses plus two physicians, surgeon Christopher Lewis and physician Casana Brunton.  Mercy chief executive officer Eric Ammons also transported a vehicle filled with various medical supplies, and a disaster response trailer filled with emergency room-type equipment and a power generator also was taken to Joplin, said Cox.

Mercy is allied with St. John’s Medical Center in Joplin through the Sisters of the Mercy, the charitable organization that owns and operates the Mercy hospitals as well as St. John’s. St. John’s Medical Center took a direct hit in the tornado, sending the 183 patients to various hospitals, including Freedom Medical Center in Joplin as well as hospitals in Springfield, Mo., Carthage, Mo., Miami, Okla., and Pittsburg, Kan.

The Sisters of Mercy organization has established an incident command center in Springfield, Mo., to coordinate the recovery and response to the St. John’s Medical Center. Cox said administrators from Mercy Hospital in Independence will be involved in that recovery process.

“As one can easily imagine, the communication has been difficult with Joplin because of the downed power lines and cell towers,” Cox said on Monday.

Many of the Mercy nurses from Independence were staged at Freedom Medical Center to assist with the treatment of injuries, she said.

Dozens of emergency personnel throughout Montgomery County were sent to Joplin on Sunday due to a plea for assistance from the Missouri Highway Patrol. Among the delegation of law enforcement, firefighters and ambulance crews were those members of the Caney, Cherryvale, Coffeyville, Independence, Montgomery County Rural and Louisburg Township fire departments, plus ambulance services in Caney, Cherryvale, Coffeyville and Independence.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department also sent several deputies to Joplin to assist law enforcement there with the search and recovery efforts.

Not only are emergency services responding to the Joplin tornado but so too are several local organizations.  The Cherryvale Christian Church sent several members to Joplin on Sunday and also sent another delegation on Monday with water, blankets and rain gear.

New Life Praise and Worship in Cherryvale also provided hundreds of sacked lunches that will feed tornado victims and emergency responders.

The Montgomery County Chronicle asks area residents and organizations to provide information about their own responses to the Joplin tornado.  Information can be sent to chronicle@taylornews.org.