Samaritan's Purse Opens Emergency Field Hospital in Northern Italy; Bringing Life-Saving Surge Capacity
BOONE, N.C., March 20, 2020Today, the Samaritan's Purse Emergency Field Hospital, specially equipped with a respiratory care unit, opened in Cremona, Italy. The 68-bed unit was airlifted to Italy on March 17 using the relief organization's DC-8 cargo plane to provide critical surge capacity to an overwhelmed hospital. The tent facility began receiving patients as soon as it opened so that staff could begin helping Italians with urgent medical needs.
Every day, hundreds of people are dying in Italy as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, and the Cremona Hospital has been forced to suspend all medical care except for maternity and pediatrics due to the overwhelming number of people suffering from the virus. The hospital is out of beds and people are suffering. To date, no patients in the hospital's intensive care unit have survived the virus.
“The situation in Italy is desperate. The hospitals are overrun and people are dying,” dijo Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse. “We are called to respond in hard places. That's why our team of disaster response specialists are on the front lines—providing life-saving medical care and sharing God's love to people who are hurting.”
The Emergency Field Hospital is adjacent to the local hospital. When Samaritan's Purse arrived with more than 20 tons of critical medical supplies, the hospital’s staff were overwhelmed with gratitude. One staff member said, “You are bringing hope to the city—even if it is dangerous, even if it is a crisis moment. I think this is going to change my country.”
Oportunidades para los medios
- Interview Dr. Elliott Tenpenny, COVID-19 response manager at the organization’s international headquarters
- Interview Kelly Suter, medical director of the Emergency Field Hospital on the ground in Cremona, Italy
- Interview medical personnel working at the Emergency Field Hospital in Italy
- Broadcast Quality Broll and High-res photos of the response available aquí
Contacto para Medios
As Samaritan's Purse provides critical care in Italy, the disaster response team continues to monitor the developing situation and is prepared to respond in the U.S. if asked. Our infectious disease experts have been working in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure the team is taking necessary precautions.
Basada en Boone, Carolina del Norte, Samaritan's Purse responde a las necesidades físicas y espirituales de los individuos en situaciones de crisis, especialmente en lugares donde no existen muchas personas ayudando. Liderada por el Presidente y Director Ejecutivo Franklin Graham, Samaritan's Purse trabaja en más de 100 países brindando ayuda a las víctimas de guerra, enfermedades, desastres, pobreza, hambruna y persecución. Para más información, visítanos en: SamaritansPurse.org/espanol.
