This Sunday, dozens of people were busy under the drizzle on the lawn of the East Meadow, one of the large playgrounds in Central Park. A field hospital was being set up in the famous park in New York to cope with the expected influx of coronavirus patients. The location was chosen because it is opposite one of the hospitals of the Mount Sinai group, in the East Harlem district.
"Operational within 48 hours"
The structure is set up by Samaritan's Purse, an evangelical humanitarian organization based in North Carolina and which dispatched about sixty people to the site.
She coordinated her intervention with New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, the United States Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Mount Sinai group. "We hope to be operational within 48 hours and ready to receive patients," said team coordinator Dr. Elliott Tenpenny, who said the field hospital will have a capacity of 68 patients.
Unlike many temporary structures being set up in the New York area, this site will have the equipment and personnel necessary to receive patients with coronavirus. In addition to the logistics team dedicated to setting up the site, Samaritan's Purse will also send doctors and nurses on site to treat patients.
Most affected state in country
The organization has already set up one of these temporary structures in northern Italy, in Cremona, also to receive coronavirus patients, said Dr Tenpenny. Governor Cuomo announced Sunday that New York State now has 59,513 cases and 965 deaths, making it by far the most affected state in the country.
A nonprofit association, Samaritan's Purse is "religiously inspired," said Dr. Tenpenny. "We are there in the name of Jesus, but we offer our help to everyone without distinction, should they need it."
“Hospitals are filling up all over the city and they need help. This is why we are here, ”said the organization's doctor, who has already worked in areas of conflict and natural disasters.
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"It is often abroad, after disasters," added Dr. Tenpenny, "but the United States has massive needs now, so we put ourselves in a position to help our country."
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