In response to medical emergencies across the globe, Samaritan’s Purse has developed field hospitals that can be deployed at short notice to most countries and regions around the world which are struggling with medical disasters.

“We are going to Italy to provide life-saving care in Jesus’ name to people who are suffering.” – Franklin Graham

One of the most recent deployments of the emergency field hospital was in Mosul in Iraq.

In northern Italy, Samaritan’s Purse was the first international organisation to provide emergency medical relief to families impacted by the deadly COVID-19 outbreak in that region.

The international Christian relief organisation deployed its Emergency Field Hospital in Italy with more than 60 disaster response specialists — including doctors, nurses, lab technicians, water and sanitation specialists, as well as other support staff. It set up the hospital outside of Milan, in the Lombardy region, where the coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed the local medical capacity.

The 68-bed Emergency Field Hospital has a unique layout with specialised respiratory equipment to provide the highest level care to patients who are suffering from the virus.

“We are going to Italy to provide life-saving care in Jesus’ name to people who are suffering,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “There is a lot of fear and panic around the world, but we put our trust in God—and we want to share that hope with others. Please continue to pray for everyone affected by this global health crisis and for our medical team as they respond.”

While it was surprising that the emergency field hospital would be deployed into a wealthy region such as northern Italy, nobody could believe that the next city to receive this help would be New York. The medical facilities of the city are now overwhelmed for COVID-19 cases and in desperate need of support.

Nearly half of all U.S. COVID-19 cases are occurring in New York City.

Samaritan’s Purse has opened an Emergency Field Hospital in Central Park adjacent to The Mount Sinai Hospital – the main facility of the Mount Sinai Health System – to provide additional specialised care for victims of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The New York City location will be staffed by 76 disaster response specialists, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, lab technicians, and other critical support personnel.

“We are grateful for the collaboration with Samaritan’s Purse who have come to the aid of the people of Italy and now New York. Through this partnership, we are leveraging our collective resources to care for our patients and community.” said Margaret Pastuszko, executive vice president, chief operating officer, and chief strategy officer for Mount Sinai Health System.

Karl Faase is Chair of Samaritan’s Purse Board in Australia and NZ