O'NEILL, Neb. — A year after a catastrophic explosion, Avera St. Anthony Hospital in O’Neill is well on its way to recovery, having addressed millions of dollars in damages and restored vital services to the community.

Since 1952, Avera St. Anthony had never fully ceased operations until October 7, 2024, when the explosion forced a complete evacuation and temporary closure. "To walk away from a facility knowing there's nobody here to answer emergency calls or care for someone in a life-threatening situation had a profound impact on our clinical team," said Amy Langan, Director of Nursing Services at Avera St. Anthony Hospital.

Despite the extensive damage, the hospital managed to partially reopen its emergency department within 25 days by repurposing inpatient beds into a temporary ER, ensuring the community had access to emergency services as quickly as possible. The kidney dialysis center, which suffered significant damage, was a major focus of the recovery efforts.

The hospital quickly arranged for patients to receive dialysis care in South Dakota, with staff driving three days a week to ensure continuity of care until the department could be fully rebuilt.

The rebuilt dialysis center now features all-new machines and patient chairs to ensure the highest standards of safety. In addition to the dialysis center, the hospital has replaced 75 windows and installed a new chiller air conditioner.

As the hospital looks forward to 2026, plans are in place to upgrade to a larger, single-unit generator and replace carpeting with hard flooring to mitigate debris accumulation.

"I really want everyone to understand how grateful we are for everybody's prayers, support, showing up to help because we're in such a better place now than we were a year ago," said John Kozyra, President & CEO of Avera St. Anthony Hospital. "And it's not because of anything I did or our the team even did. But it really is a community effort.”

News Channel Nebraska will continue this story Friday, October 9th, with a look at the aftermath of the school's rebuild and the community support that aided their recovery.