Graham heard stories of God’s provision as he met with patients and medical teams at our Emergency Field Hospital in Black River.
Samaritan’s Purse COO Edward Graham visited the wards of our Emergency Field Hospital Nov. 11 to encourage patients and staff and to hear stories of God’s faithfulness in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.
Set up within days of the Oct. 28 storm in the southwest coastal community of Black River, Jamaica, the field hospital has treated more than 300 patients, including performing six surgeries, since opening Nov. 5. The day before Graham arrived, the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) saw 124 emergency patients.
Children joyfully greet Graham during his visit to one of our distribution areas.
“I always like to see for myself, what is needed, what’s working, what doesn’t work. It is incredible to fly around to see the damage and what’s happened just around you and the fact that y’all are up and making this possible,” Graham told the medical team. “It’s an unbelievable capability and even a lot of militaries out there can’t do this.”
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Many Black River residents are still displaced from their homes after the Category 5 storm leveled communities. The storm also gutted Black River Hospital, the area’s major medical campus, leaving the community of 150,000 people cut off from care. Our teams are already integrating staff from Black River Hospital to ensure continuous care and prepare for an eventual handover of the hospital to local medical systems.
We have treated more than 300 patients at the field hospital.
Meeting Medical Needs in Jesus’ Name
The team shared about the critical nature of the work in a disaster setting, where minor injuries and chronic conditions can suddenly become life-threatening.
Among the hundreds of patients we treated was a woman injured by a rusty nail and in danger of tetanus. Through wound care and medication, we saved her from a long hospital stay and further complications.
Jamaicans are in need of prayer and continued relief.
We also admitted an infant with heart issues needing more specialized care and so made the decision to transport the child by air to see a cardiologist in Jamaica’s capital city.
Graham also heard how one of our build team members noticed that the ward had no crib suitable for an ailing child. Using leftover pallets and spare materials, they quickly built a handmade cradle to be the little patient’s bed.
“It truly is a team effort,” Graham said, as he heard the crib story in the OB/GYN ward. “You think about what it all takes. I always highlight the MacGyvers—guys that make anything possible. It takes MacGyvers, it takes doctors, nurses, and logistics to do something like this.”
Graham also heard from DART members about how they’ve been changed while serving in Jamaica.
Barb Rash, a lab technician who has deployed with Samaritan’s Purse multiple times, said this mission has been one of the most powerful she’s witnessed.
“It’s been an amazing deployment for me,” she said. “We’ve watched people come to Jesus. We’ve watched people walk out of here well. We’ve watched people walk out with medicine that they didn’t have, that they lost. They hug our necks and they say, thank you. They’re teaching me about Jesus.”
Barb Rash is a longtime lab tech serving with DARTs and our Emergency Field Hospital.
Before departing, Graham gathered the team for a time of encouragement and prayer. He thanked them for their tireless service and reminded them why their work matters.
“It’s easy to say we can’t do it without you but it’s true,” he said. “It’s a team effort. You look how quickly you take a field during a disaster and how quick y’all can get up and get operational, start treating people. Because at the end of the day, it is about loving and serving, but most importantly, there was a debt paid in the story of the Good Samaritan, and it’s about sharing the Gospel.”
He also prayed over the hospital and staff, asking God to bless their work and every patient who enters the hospital tents.
“Thank You, Lord,” he prayed. “I pray for wisdom for the team, protection. Thank You for everyone here on the staff. We lay our hands on this hospital. We thank You for the capability. We thank You for the patients that come. You know each and every one of them, the conditions of their heart. And Lord, I just pray we’re faithful with the Gospel. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.”
Graham prays with staff and local members of our distribution team.
