The evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization Samaritan's Purse is setting up an emergency field hospital in New York City's Central Park to care for patients seriously ill with the coronavirus, the group announced on its website.
The 68-bed respiratory care unit, in partnership with Mt. Sinai Health System and intergovernmental agencies, will include doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel and is expected to open on Tuesday.
"People are dying from the coronavirus, hospitals are out of beds, and the medical staff are overwhelmed," Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham said in explaining the reason for setting up the field hospital. "This is what Samaritan's Purse does — we respond in the middle of crises to help people in Jesus' name."
Samaritan's Purse sent the field hospital on four tractor-trailers from the organization's base in North Carolina, according to CBN News.
Tents were erected in the park on Sunday as part of the preparations for the hospital, the New York Daily News reported.
New York City Hall deputy press secretary Jane Meyer told the publication that "This will not be a standalone walk-in facility — Mt. Sinai will manage admissions and transfers."
Samaritan's Purse recently set up another emergency field hospital near Milan, Italy, that is manned by more than 65 disaster relief personnel, according to the organization's website.
In addition, the group donated more than 50,000 desperately needed face masks to hospitals in North Carolina.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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