Samaritan’s Purse officially opened our Emergency Field Hospital in Antakya, Turkey, on Feb. 13 and received dozens of patients over the first few hours. About 100 Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) staff are on the ground providing medical care and other relief, including shelter materials, solar lights, and other items.
Many tens of thousands are injured. The death toll exceeds 35,000 people.
Samaritan’s Purse has established a 52-bed Emergency Field Hospital in Turkey, accepting dozens of patients within hours of opening Feb. 13. The mobile hospital includes two emergency operating rooms and a pharmacy.
About 100 staff are on the ground in Turkey as part of our DART, which includes doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel. Other disaster relief specialists are also providing communities with critical supplies such as tarps, blankets, and solar lanterns.
If you are interested in joining our DART roster to be a part of these types of disaster responses, click here to apply.
More than 35,000 people were killed and tens of thousands are injured in Turkey and Syria as homes and other buildings were toppled by massive earthquakes on Feb. 6.
“Our hearts are breaking at the pain, loss, and devastation experienced by the people of Turkey and Syria,” said John Clayton, director of programs and projects for Samaritan’s Purse Canada. “We’re taking swift and compassionate action to help as many survivors as possible.”
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS RESPONSE
Samaritan's Purse is ready to respond at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever disaster strikes. We specialize in meeting critical needs for victims of conflict, natural disaster, famine, and epidemics throughout the world, often working through local ministry partners to do so. We provide emergency food, water, shelter, medical care, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ.
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Samaritan’s Purse airlifted the mobile hospital and dozens of medical personnel to Turkey on Feb. 9 to address the urgent physical needs of families suffering in the wake of this natural disaster. Hospital components were then transported to Antakya in southern Turkey, historically known as Antioch. In this area, where believers were first called Christians, the tent hospital has been set up to include two emergency operating rooms and a pharmacy. Emergency relief supplies, including tarps, blankets, and solar lights, will also be delivered.
“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.
If you are interested in joining our DART roster to be a part of these types of disaster responses, click here to apply.
Doctors and nurses are already treating patients at our Emergency Field Hospital in Turkey.
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.
