Update: The field hospital is now operational and receiving patients. Go here for the latest article (as of March 21) on our response in Italy.
The Samaritan’s Purse DC-8 aircraft arrived March 17 in Milan, Italy, and our 32-member disaster response team is already preparing the Emergency Field Hospital to provide medical care during the coronavirus pandemic.
Our staff are quickly organizing medical supplies.
Our 68-bed respiratory unit is being set up in the Cremona Hospital parking lot to help care for an overflow of coronavirus patients. Samaritan’s Purse staff are working with the Italian Air Force and Lombardy Region Civil Protection Volunteers to unload the 20 tons of medical equipment transported by the DC-8 and to prepare the respiratory unit to receive patients.
Cremona Hospital has been forced to suspend all medical care except for maternity and pediatrics due to the overwhelming numbers of people suffering from this terrible disease. To date, no patients in the hospital’s intensive care unit have survived COVID-19.
The city of Cremona sits outside of Milan in the Lombardy region, which has the highest death toll by far of any region within Italy. There are more people needing intensive care in Lombardy than there are ICU beds available. Hundreds have died each day for the past several days.
Who is Samaritan Purse ?
International Crisis Response
Samaritan's Purse stands ready to respond at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever disaster strikes. We specialize in meeting critical needs for victims of conflict, disaster, famine, and epidemics throughout the world, often working through ministry partners on the ground. We provide food, water, shelter, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ.
(They are associated with TBN)