Moore Medical Center will get bulldozed in wake of killer tornado

A hospital badly damaged by the deadly EF5 tornado which struck Oklahoma City and Moore last Monday will have to come down, its owners say.

David Whitaker, CEO of Norman Regional Health System, says the Moore Medical Center building located near SE 4th St. and Telephone can't be salvaged.

Because of the emergency situation, the Norman Regional Hospital Authority has reportedly told hospital officials it has waived the normal bidding process for salvage, demolition, and recovery.

NRHS has not decided whether to build another community hospital in Moore, according to local media.

Moore Medical Center specialized in cochlear implants, and an operation on a five-year-old girl was originally scheduled for Monday, May 20, but had been postponed.

Volunteers from the hospital combed the debris after the tornado and actually found the implant, and the procedure took place later in the week at a hospital in Norman.

An estimated 455 people took shelter in the hospital's cafeteria during the tornado, including employees, patients, and people from the surrounding neighborhood.

All of them survived.