All coronavirus patients have been discharged from the Samaritan’s Purse field hospital in New York City.
Franklin Graham traveled to New York City today to thank Samaritan’s Purse staff members who have been working on the frontlines to care for COVID-19 patients at our Central Park Emergency Field Hospital.
“I want to thank all of you for everything you’ve done. We give God the glory for it,” Graham said. “We are here to give and to give in the Name of Jesus Christ who died on the Cross for us. We want the world to know God loves them.
“This hospital has been a beacon of life and a beacon of hope. You’ve been able to touch lives.”
Franklin Graham was on the ground today to thank our medical team.
Through our partnership with the Mount Sinai Health System, we treated more than 300 coronavirus patients in New York, including 190 at our Central Park site. We praise God that our team got to see many patients recover and return home to their loved ones after being critically ill. Not only that, we are thankful for the times we had to share the reason for the hope that in us (1 Peter 3:15).
“I’m very grateful to the Mount Sinai Health System for adopting us and asking us to come,” Graham said. “It was their invitation that brought us here. They’ve been an incredible partner. We’re thankful to God for this opportunity to work in New York and for the people of New York and to do it in the Name of Jesus Christ. These are uncertain times. I want the people of New York to know that God made us and created us and loves us. He hasn’t forgotten us.”
Our 14-tent, 68-bed respiratory care unit (RCU) opened on April 1 and was designed especially for this coronavirus response. All patients under Samaritan’s Purse care have now been discharged, and we are in the process of decontaminating and packing up the tents. We had not been receiving new patients at our RCU since Monday, as the surge in COVID-19 hospital admissions is finally reaching manageable levels.
Watch the video below to see an overview of our deployment and also how our team rejoiced every time they discharged a patient.
More than 240 relief specialists served at various times on our Disaster Assistance Response Team in New York.
“We’re working with people who share a common sense of mission and purpose,” said Brendan Pike, an ICU critical care nurse from Medford, Oregon. “We’re here because Jesus set the ultimate example.”
Today, May 7, is the National Day of Prayer. “We need to pray for our nation,” Graham said in Central Park. “Our nation is not out of trouble. Pray for our president, our leaders, that God would guide them in the decisions that they make. These are very difficult days, and we need God’s help. We need to pray for God’s wisdom.”
Please continue to pray for the people of New York City and for the entire United States during this battle with COVID-19. Pray for God to bring an end to this global pandemic.
We praise God for the medical team who has worked hard and demonstrated God’s love to many people.
