Swath of Destruction The overhaul couldn’t have come soon enough. Mother Nature’s chest-pounding that spring soon emerged as simply an opening salvo in a swath of destruction that would come to characterize Pfeifer’s tenure. The state was pounded with crushing tornadoes on May 19, 20, and 30 this year, amassing a staggering death toll of 48. “Weather forecasting in Oklahoma is probably the best in the country, and the storms were predicted many hours in advance,” Pfeifer said. “Still, with the magnitude of what we were dealing with, we had to modify our protocol as we went along. We were prepared for the worst, but the challenge was the numbers. In a matter of a few days, you have 48 fatalities. That puts a great strain on the personnel and the system.”
PHOTO: GLEN E. ELLMAN
PHOTO: GLEN E. ELLMAN
ME DIC AL COL LE GE o f GE OR GIA
DR. ERIC PFEIFER
“Taking this on was quite a bear,” he acknowledges. “There were times I wondered, ‘My gosh, what have I gotten myself into?’ But every day, you see more changes, and that’s very, very satisfying. The result has been a group of people that are absolutely some of the best I’ve ever worked with.”