Early Tuesday morning, March 19, the Samaritan’s Purse 757 cargo plane touched down in Calgary, Alberta, loaded with the supplies to deploy an Emergency Field Hospital anywhere in the world. A few minutes later, the Samaritan’s Purse DC-8 landed with more equipment.
Positioning this hospital in Canada increases our ability to respond to disasters with life-saving medical care when time is critical.
“As our world faces increasingly large and frequent disasters, all of our global Samaritan’s Purse offices are committed to responding in Jesus’ Name at a moment’s notice,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “Our Emergency Field Hospitals have helped us save lives and bring the hope of the Gospel in the midst of crises around the world, and this facility will equip our Canada office to respond wherever God calls us next.”
“As our world faces increasingly large and frequent disasters, all of our global Samaritan’s Purse offices are committed to responding in Jesus’ Name at a moment’s notice.”
This state-of-the-art tent hospital is joining other emergency supplies—such as tarps, water filters, and hygiene kits—already pre-positioned at our Samaritan’s Purse Canada warehouse in Calgary. Its customizable units include an emergency room, laboratory, surgical facilities, and everything needed for inpatient and outpatient care in the event of an international crisis.
Canadian Disaster Assistance Response Team members will deploy alongside the hospital to provide top-quality care to patients who often have nowhere else to go for help. A specially-trained set-up team also works to have the hospital fully operational within 24 hours of arrival.
“We are thankful that the Lord has provided us with this resource,” said Fred Weiss, executive director of Samaritan’s Purse Canada. “We’ll be able to deploy this field hospital along with Canadian disaster responders to provide expert care that will save lives and reduce suffering while sharing the message of eternal life through Christ.”
Since its inaugural deployment to Ecuador in 2016, the Samaritan’s Purse Emergency Field Hospital has been deployed more than 20 times and provided emergency medical relief to tens of thousands of patients in disaster-stricken areas, including war-torn Ukraine, Turkey following a deadly earthquake, and Iraq in the midst of the conflict in Mosul. All of these deployments have included Canadian doctors, nurses, and other staff.
In 2023 alone, Canadian staff helped treat more than 8,000 earthquake survivors and perform 270 surgeries at the Emergency Field Hospital in Turkey.
Adding an Emergency Field Hospital in Canada further equips our team to join Samaritan’s Purse global staff in bringing help and hope in Jesus’ Name to the hard places of the world. Please pray for the future use of this facility and those who will receive life-saving care through it.
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.