Samaritan’s Purse is preparing to deploy an Emergency Field Hospital to Ukraine. Phase 1 of our Tier 2 Emergency Field Hospital deployment is scheduled to start Friday.
Our DC-8 cargo plane in Greensboro will airlift hospital equipment, generators, flooring, logistics, and set-up personnel, as well as doctors and nurses. Once the plane lands in Poland, the field hospital will then be transported overland to Ukraine where it will provide specialized trauma care to people impacted by the conflict.
The field hospital is equipped with 30 beds, an operating room, an ICU, an emergency room, a pharmacy, and it has its own water and sanitation. As many as 100 patients a day can be seen at this hospital, and it will be operated by more than 50 staff (medical and non-medical). The situation on the ground is fluid and changing rapidly, but the hospital could be operational early next week.
Samaritan’s Purse already has disaster response specialists on the ground in Poland, Romania, and Moldova, and we plan to send two medical clinics on an additional flight next week. Assessment teams continue to work to identify the most strategic locations for these units. These health clinics will equip Samaritan’s Purse medical staff to meet minor trauma needs and provide general medical care for some 200 patients each day.
In addition to our medical work, Samaritan’s Purse is also preparing to distribute 20 tons of food inside Ukraine.
The Eastern European nation remains in deep crisis as fighting continues to spread and escalate, with deadly violence hitting the capital, Kyiv, and the second-largest city, Kharkiv. The United Nations reports that more than 800,000 refugees, primarily women and children, have already left Ukraine seeking shelter in nearby nations.
“Samaritan’s Purse has been closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine for weeks,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “We have deployed members of our Disaster Assistance Response Team to surrounding countries and are standing ready to help meet emergency needs resulting from the crisis. Please join me in praying for the people of Ukraine and for this conflict to end quickly.”
Samaritan’s Purse also has many ministry partners inside Ukraine, including a robust outreach through Operation Christmas Child. As conflict erupted, we were in the process of distributing 600,000 gift-filled shoeboxes this year. We remain in contact with churches in the country to see how we can assist in this volatile situation. Please pray for God to grant them strength and protection.
Franklin Graham asked for a special day of prayer on Feb. 27, asking Almighty God to work in the hearts of leaders and bring an end to this deadly conflict. He said, “Let’s lift up in prayer those who are enduring these dark days filled with uncertainty, fear, hardship, loss, and suffering. May they know the comfort, presence, peace, and protection of God who is a ‘refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble'” (Psalm 46:1). [via Facebook].
Please continue to pray for the people of Ukraine and for our teams as they seek ways to help in Jesus’ Name.
Source: Samaritan’s Purse