Update (Oct. 19): Our team worked hard to quickly establish a 28-bed COVID-19 care center at Princess Margaret Hospital in the Bahamas. We received our first patients on Monday, Oct. 19. Read a more recent story on our work.
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Oct. 15: Samaritan’s Purse has just deployed our Emergency Field Hospital and a disaster assistance response team to Nassau, the Bahamas, at the request of the Bahamian prime minister.
Our DC-8 cargo jet left Oct. 15 from Greensboro, North Carolina, carrying the 28-bed COVID care center, more than 14 tons of supplies, and a team of doctors, nurses, and other relief specialists. They will set up the facility as part of Nassau’s Princess Margaret Hospital. Canadian DART members are also deploying as part of this response in a variety of roles.
Our care center will help expand the hospital’s capacity for patient treatment, which has been strained as the number of coronavirus cases on the islands has risen. Princess Margaret Hospital is currently full, and they’ve had to shut down medical transfers from other islands.
In cooperation with the Bahamas Ministry of Health, the team also will be providing infection prevention and control (IPC) training for national health care workers. In addition, we will be supporting the establishment of IPC programming in associated medical facilities. A number of health professionals in the country have fallen ill with the virus, exacerbating an already difficult situation.
“Hospital staff are overwhelmed and exhausted as the number of coronavirus patients in the Bahamas reaches an all-time high,” said Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham. “Our teams respond to the hard places in Jesus’ Name; this is the right place to go to make a difference in the lives of hurting families.”
If you are interested in joining our DART roster to be a part of these types of disaster responses, click here to apply.
Since the global spread of the coronavirus, there have been more than 4,800 cases in the Bahamas to date, including 3,660 cases in New Providence (where Nassau is located), according to the Bahamas Ministry of Health. Over 2,000 cases on the islands as a whole are considered to be active. A reported 102 people in the Bahamas have died from COVID-19.
Samaritan’s Purse previously deployed an Emergency Field Hospital in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm, devastated much of the country last year. Today’s deployment also comes about six months after Samaritan’s Purse simultaneously operated COVID-focused field hospitals in Cremona, Italy, and in New York City, both of which were pandemic epicenters at that time. Our medical staff cared for more than 600 patients at the two nearly identical 68-bed respiratory care units, reminding these men and women that they were not alone or forgotten.
Pray for our team in the Bahamas as they respond in Jesus’ Name to this urgent need for medical assistance.
Whether airlifting our Emergency Field Hospital to Italy in the wake of disease outbreak, or responding to earthquakes and armed conflict, Samaritan's Purse stands ready to respond in the face of a myriad of medical crises. Your gift will help bring expert treatment, other basic needs and the hope of the Gospel to the sick and suffering.