Iberia Medical Center staff and personnel are continuing to assess the damage that occurred as a result of the weather event Wednesday afternoon.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said during his visit to New Iberia on Thursday that IMC was one of his main priorities.

“I brought my team and state agency leads to Iberia Parish today to be on the ground, hearing from the first responders, the parish president and the mayor of New Iberia and others, particularly related to the hospital and the medical office building which as you know sustained serious damage,” Edwards said. “We want to figure out what we can do to help and speed up that assistance as much as possible.”

The damage was limited to offices, but the images of the damage showed teh strength and force of the tornado.

Marketing Director Lisa Landry said that facility partners were on site assessing the extent of the property damage right after it occurred.

The exterior of the IMC Main Campus’ medical office facility has visible exterior damage, with several windows completely removed as a result of the tornado.

“It’s going to require a full assessment of the damage (to get the full scope of the damage),” Landry said. “Safety is our top priority.”

Landry said there were five people who suffered minor injuries as a result of the event, and each were treated and released at the main facility on Wednesday.

IMC remained open despite the tornado.

The medical office facility, where most of the damage was incurred will be undergoing repairs, and those who had an appointment scheduled for Thursday are encouraged to contact the appropriate medical office for more information.

“It’s clear that most of the damage was to the medical office facility,” Landry said.

The hospital itself had suffered minimal damage, and there was no issue with patient safety or housing.

Along with the facility, tree damage also played a part in the full extent of the weather event. Debris was lined all along the Main Campus Wednesday afternoon, and several vehicles that were parked at the campus had also suffered tornado damage shortly after rainfall had ceased.

Landry said that IMC’s North Campus, the former Dauterive Hospital, suffered no damage at all as a result of the tornado.

(John Anderson contributed to this report)