Caring (and Dancing) Through the Snow

In January 2025, a powerful winter storm blanketed Kansas City with ice and nearly a foot of snow, creating treacherous conditions across all roads and major highways. Yet, the dedicated staff of AdventHealth Shawnee Mission and AdventHealth South Overland Park rose to the challenge, bringing their compassion, resilience, and even their “dancing shoes” to ensure patient care remained uninterrupted.

Environmental Services team member AdventHealth South Overland Park, Wendy Linares, became a symbol of resilience during the storm when a video of her dancing in a snow-covered parking lot on her way to work was posted on Instagram. Linares, inspired by the memory of her late son who passed away from cancer six years ago, explained, “I promised him I’d always find joy, even in darkness.”

More than 100 team members were safely transported to the hospitals by AdventHealth executives—including AdventHealth South Overland Park President and Chief Executive Officer Dallas Purkeypile and Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Bolanos—as well as security personnel, managers, nurses, support staff and Emergency Management Specialist Paul Landreth-Smith, who delivered nearly 80 team members himself despite getting stuck multiple times. Nearly 200 staff were accommodated overnight across both hospitals, AdventHealth College Boulevard ER and AdventHealth Prairie Star [the AdventHealth Prairie Star ER nursing team are pictured atop the article], with hospitality kits prepared by Environmental Services to support their extended stays.

AdventHealth South Overland Park’s Nutrition Services team stocked breakrooms with food on Friday in preparation for the storm while weekend shift team members brought in their food and slow cookers to fix hearty meals for each other. AdventHealth Shawnee Mission’s Nutrition Services team created boxed meals for staff staying overnight. However, when kitchen staffing shortages during the storm’s peak impacted food supply for team members, it was our community partners with the Overland Park Fire Department who stepped in to help.

“The ambulance crews are always on the road, always on the go, and they miss their meals quite often, and so (hospital staff) have snacks that they provide,” said Overland Park Fire Capt. Stan McDonald in an interview with KCTV5. “The nurses had kind of raided that area because they were hungry, and they’d been there for most of the day, and were going to stay overnight.”

The firefighters raided their pantry and fixed up a pancake breakfast for dinner. Saturday’s ice storm had kept them busy with emergency calls. The hospital food emergency came on a day when they had down time.

“Because we weren’t running calls, we were able to make the food for them and help them out in a different, a unique way,” McDonald said.

As for patients, a snow day wasn’t going to stand in the way of getting the care they needed, including one couple who gave birth during the storm. As the roads became treacherous to travel on, Charles and Carollynn Thornton went into labor. The family needed to get from their home near the Legends in Kansas City, Kan., to AdventHealth Birth Center at Shawnee Mission, but didn’t know how they were going to get there. With the support of KC Off-Road, a club of volunteers who offered more than 100 rides to first responders during the storm, the couple was able to hitch a ride and arrive safely to the Birth Center in time to welcome their first daughter, Charlotte. KC Off-Road visited the couple days later and got to meet the baby they helped bring into this world.

"We're just grateful that they were able to come and be a major part of this event in our lives and get us here safely and happily,” the Thorntons said in an interview with KSHB 41. “She’s going to be a Jeep girl. Her first car will have to be a Jeep."

The storm showcased the unwavering spirit of AdventHealth’s healthcare workers, our community partners, and kind-hearted volunteers, proving that even nature’s fiercest challenges can’t dim their dedication.

"We are grateful for the tireless efforts of every individual who went above and beyond and worked during the snowstorm," said Dallas Purkeypile. "Your positive spirit made all the difference, lifting us up when we needed it most. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for everything you do."