Samaritan's Purse is receiving a stream of patients at its mobile hospital in Antakya, Turkey.
Samaritan’s Purse officially opened our Emergency Field Hospital in Antakya, Turkey, on Feb. 13 and received dozens of patients within the first few hours. Now, within the first 24 hours of opening, we’ve provided treatment for scores of patients, including multiple surgeries.
A steady stream of patients continues to fill our triage, emergency room, and intensive care unit as ambulances and walk-ins arrive from the surrounding communities. Delays in treatment since the earthquake have allowed infections to set in, making injuries and illness more severe.
Doctors and nurses are already treating patients at our Emergency Field Hospital in Turkey.
“Our Emergency Field Hospital is now open, and our medical team has already treated earthquake injuries like broken bones, wounds, and infections,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “People are suffering, and we are there to meet their physical needs in Jesus’ Name. Please pray for everyone affected and for our Disaster Assistance Response Team as they meet these emergency needs.”
Almost immediately after going operational, an ambulance arrived with multiple people in need of medical care. They were rushed into our emergency room in order for them to be diagnosed and treated by our doctors and nurses.
Our Emergency Field Hospital is meeting immediate needs of earthquake survivors.
Among the first to be seen was a woman whose terrace had collapsed after the earthquake. She was thrown to the ground below and brutally injured as debris crashed around her. She was in agony and cried out in pain as she was examined.
Upon reviewing her X-ray, doctors found that she had indeed fractured her shoulder. They were further examining her hip and legs to determine the extent of her other injuries.
Another man, who had been working in the ongoing recovery efforts, was rushed into our hospital with severe abdominal pain and in need of care. Groaning as he was treated by a physician, the cause of his distress was uncertain at first, requiring him to be admitted for additional tests and care.
Patients are arriving in a stream of ambulance transports from surrounding communities.
Among other patients our team examined was a child battling cancer who had to be referred elsewhere, others with leg injuries, and more. Men, women, and children were all seen within the first hour, and ambulances are continuing to bring those desperate for help to our triage center. Our operating room is in use for the first time as this was written.
The flow of patients to the Emergency Field Hospital serves as evidence of the immense need in this suffering nation. As the initial earthquake struck one week ago (Feb. 6), quality medical care is now more crucial than ever as those with injuries are continuing to suffer and their health rapidly declining. Among many other services, the hospital includes two emergency operating rooms and a pharmacy.
Samaritan’s Purse has close to 100 Disaster Assistance Response Team members on the ground now, and as needs continue to grow, we will be deploying additional relief specialists and supplies to the region. Our teams will continue to work alongside local church partners to bring physical relief and share God’s love with those who are hurting.
Please Keep Praying for Turkey and Syria
This Emergency Field Hospital was airlifted from Atlanta to Turkey on Feb. 9. Staff and materials were urgently transported to Antakya where our team quickly began raising the mobile facility on property surrounding the 1,100-bed Hatay State Hospital, which was irreparably crippled and made unsafe by the earthquakes. Historically known as Antioch, this is the area where believers were first called Christians (see Acts 11:26).
Our teams worked through the night constructing tents and assembling hospital equipment.
The loss of the region’s key healthcare facility further compounds the desperation felt by communities who’ve experienced unimaginable loss, grief, and the destruction of all they had. The death toll from this disaster well exceeds 30,000 people, mostly in Turkey but also in Syria, and tens of thousands more are injured and displaced. These tragic numbers continue to rise.
Please continue to pray for our teams as they seek to serve these vulnerable people in Jesus’ Name. More importantly, pray for the families in Turkey who have experienced severe loss and begin the long road to recovery.
Our Emergency Field Hospital has been set up in the parking area of the region’s irreparably damaged hospital.
