International relief organization Samaritan’s Purse has carried out the initial phase of the Emergency Field Hospital they will set up in Ukraine. With the Ukrainian people defending their country after Russia’s violent invasion, the need for medical assistance has escalated, and Samaritan’s Purse is among the organizations meeting the need to tend to those injured.
According to Samaritan’s Purse, On March 4, their DC-8 cargo plane airlifted a 30-bed Emergency Field Hospital in addition to members of the Disaster Assistance Response Team that includes doctors, nurses, and logistics and set-up personnel. The plane will land in Poland and the field hospital will be transported to Ukraine where it will give specialized care to those impacted by the war. Samaritan’s Purse described the hospital as being equipped with an “operating room (providing up to 15 surgeries per day), an ICU, an emergency room, a pharmacy, and it has its own water and sanitation system.” They add that it will be “operated by more than 50 staff (medical and non-medical),” and can tend to as many as 100 patients each day.
Disaster response specialists from Samaritan’s Purse have already been on the ground in Poland, Romania, and Moldova providing support and assistance. According to Samaritan’s Purse, assessment teams determine the key locations to set up medical units. The units being set up in these locations are equipped to “meet minor trauma needs and provide general medical care for some 200 patients each day.”
Samaritan’s Purse has been asking for people to join in prayer for Ukrainians, noting that they are experiencing “a catastrophe we have not witnessed in Europe since the Second World War.” By partnering with over 3,200 churches inside Ukraine, Samaritan’s Purse has been in contact with the churches to learn how they can best support the people of Ukraine. They remain committed to supporting Ukrainians and repeat prayers for their strength and protection.