Samaritan's Purse Sets Up Field Hospital to Treat COVID-19 Patients in Hard-Hit New York City

  (Image: via SamaritansPurse.org)

Samaritan's Purse, the Christian relief organization founded by evangelist Franklin Graham, has set up an emergency field hospital in New York City, an area hit hard by the COVID-19 virus.

The Central Park tent hospital is filled with 68 beds and a special respiratory field unit. Graham told CBN News that the medical system in New York is overwhelmed. Samaritan's Purse has set up in front of Mount Sinai Hospital, which is currently full.

"And our hospital, right there on Central Park and Fifth Avenue... they say when we open up tomorrow, we're going to be full," Graham said.

According to Samaritan's Purse, the field hospital will be staffed with doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and water and sanitation experts. Crisis-trained chaplains with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will be on hand helping to look after emotional and spiritual needs that arise.

"What struck me was an article in the paper, and a woman said her husband died alone. People are dying alone. And I thought, just give Samaritan's Purse those who have no hope. And people who come into our hospital won't die alone, because our doctors and nurses pray. We pray. If someone passes away, they won't be dying alone. Our doctors and nurses are going to be praying with them, holding their hands, and loving them to the last breath," Graham said.

"But we hope everyone that comes into our hospital, that they will walk out," he added. "That's our goal. And we've just got a great team. There are young doctors, young nurses, they're ER people from all over the US and Canada."

"We run into the fire, we don't run away from it," he continued. "We're going to be in New York as long as we need to be there."

Graham said he thinks President Trump is doing a good job dealing with the crisis. Asked about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's remark that the president was "fiddling around while people are dying" from coronavirus, Graham said now is not the time to be partisan.

"The whole country needs to come together. I know this is an election year, and the president's enemies want to make hay while they can. But Democrats are dying, Republicans are going to die, Independents are going to die. And let's just quit fooling around. Let's work together," he said.

"It turns people off when they hear people criticizing the president at this time. Let's get behind the president," the evangelist added. "The president is working 7 days a week. Almost 24/7. I don't know when the guy sleeps. And for Nancy Pelosi to criticize him, saying he's fiddling around, is just wrong."

Graham also warned of the danger of churches continuing to meet as American cases of the virus continue to grow.

"Well, this virus is real. And we need to do everything we can to protect ourselves, our families, our loved ones, and I would just encourage everyone to be careful," he cautioned.

"We know that God loves us, don't we? We know that for a fact, and that He cares for us. He never promises to take us out of a storm. We find ourselves in storms in life. Jesus found Himself in a storm on the Sea of Galilee with His disciples and the boat was sinking. But if Jesus is with us in the boat, we don't have to be worried. We know that our faith and trust is in Him, that He loves and cares for us, and He'll take us through that storm. It doesn't mean we'll get out of the storm, but when we go through the storm we know that He's there with us," Graham concluded.