On May 22, 2011, the hospital was seriously damaged by a tornado from the tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011. Five patients were killed inside the hospital due to electrical failure and surviving patients were evacuated from the health facility, which sustained major structural damage. One of the hospital's towers was rotated four inches on its foundation. In the immediate aftermath of the tornado, the Missouri National Guard established a field hospital at Joplin Memorial Hall.