Survivors of Hurricane Dorian are being provided life-saving supplies and medical help from the humanitarian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse. The organization has built an entire hospital from scratch.
The impact of the monster storm on the Bahamas continues to unfold with some saying it may take decades to rebuild. Because of the overwhelming devastation, the Bahamian government is relying on the US Coast Guard to locate survivors and bodies. Samaritian’s American volunteer medics, engineers and relief personnel continue to work tirelessly on the islands and building a sprawling makeshift hospital to treat the sick and injured:
Our Emergency Field Hospital in the Bahamas has been assembled, and our team is preparing to see patients shortly. Take a look inside. https://sampur.se/2kaVq6j
Posted by Samaritan's Purse on Monday, September 9, 2019
Dr. Elliott Tenpenny, who is on the ground in the Bahamas, explains that the team was personally asked by the Bahamian government to erect the hospital facility.
“We were asked by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization to deploy the Samaritan’s Purse Emergency Field Hospital using our DC-8 cargo plane to help take care of people in need,” he said. “There are a lot of people suffering here, and we’re here to relieve a small amount of that suffering. I would ask for everyone’s prayers and support as we undertake this work and as God uses us to reach the people of the Bahamas.”
Tenpenny serves as the Emergency Medical Response Manager of the International Disaster Response Unit at Samaritan’s Purse.
“Samaritan’s Purse is on the ground in the Bahamas bringing critical relief to families who are suffering,” reads a press release from the Christian charity. The organization noted that “more than 30 tons of emergency relief supplies have been airlifted to Nassau in response to the crisis.
Samaritan’s Purse is responding to the critical need in the Bahamas with more than 35 tons of critical relief supplies–emergency shelter material, water filtration units, and desalinization filters designed to convert saltwater to freshwater. Photo credit: Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse.
The 40-bed hospital is equipped with, “outpatient dept. and emergency room,” and can “serve up to 100 patients per day.” It also contains an “obstetrics ward with a delivery room” and an “operating room with capacity for up to 10 surgeries per day,” along with an “intensive care unit,” for the seriously injured or unless.
“The Emergency Field Hospital will increase the organization’s ability to assist families who are suffering from the storm,” Samaritan’s Purse explained. “The mobile hospital will be airlifted in two consecutive DC-8 loads, which will also carry doctors and nurses and function as a full hospital with surgical capacity.”
“While providing medical attention to these hurting communities, Samaritan’s Purse continues to aid families by distributing emergency relief supplies and establishing access to clean water.”
Samaritan’s Purse is committed to providing physical relief and spiritual comfort to families who lost everything after Hurricane Dorian. Photo credit: Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse.
The President and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, Franklin Graham, called for prayer as the hospital begins to function. “We would be grateful for your prayers as our team begins treating patients and we continue to deliver emergency relief supplies in Jesus’ Name,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to NBC News, the latest death toll figure in The Bahamas has risen to 50 people, with many still unaccounted for.
–Metro Voice and wire services
