Employee airlifted following injury at Simmons Pet Food facility; fundraiser launched to support recovery

Emergency responders were called to the Simmons Pet Food facility in Emporia Friday evening following a workplace injury involving an employee.

Emporia Fire responded to the facility at approximately 6:15 p.m. for a medical emergency. One individual was treated at the scene and later airlifted to a hospital for additional medical care.

In a statement provided Saturday, Simmons confirmed the employee is in stable condition.

"Our prayers are with them and their family," Augusta Branham, senior director of communications for Simmons Pet Food, said in the statement. "The safety of our team members is our highest priority, and we are continuing to investigate the cause of the incident."

Simmons did not release additional details regarding the nature of the injury.

A fundraising campaign launched online identified the injured employee as Kristina Bush and described the incident as involving hot water.

According to the fundraiser, created by Bush's husband, Bush was working at Simmons when "the system malfunctioned and boiling hot water sprayed all over her." The fundraiser said Bush now faces what her family described as a difficult recovery process.

The family said donations would help cover mortgage payments, utilities, travel expenses related to treatment and other costs associated with Bush's recovery.

Simmons has not confirmed details regarding the circumstances of the injury described in the fundraiser.

The company also clarified that caution tape visible around the Emporia facility and the building closure were unrelated to the incident. According to Simmons, the Emporia facility had already been scheduled to close for the holiday weekend and was taped off as part of a previously planned maintenance process.

The cause of the incident remains under investigation.

Those wishing to support Bush and her family can contribute through the fundraiser here: GoFundMe campaign for Kristina Bush

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