What Could Go Wrong? Franklin Graham’s ‘Samaritan’s Purse’ Deploys Emergency Field Hospital in Ukraine

Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse announced that Samaritan’s Purse is in the process of setting up an Emergency Field Hospital on the outskirts of Lviv, in western Ukraine. Our DC-8 cargo plane airlifted the initial phase of the hospital on March 4 along with Disaster Assistance Response Team members, including doctors, nurses, and logistics and other personnel. ​After landing in Poland, the team and equipment were transported overland into the war-torn nation of Ukraine. An additional DC-8 flight on March 8 and a chartered 747 flight on March 10 brought more materials for the hospital.

The field hospital will have two operating rooms, with capacity for 14 major surgeries or 30 minor surgeries per day. There will be nearly 60 total inpatient beds, including four intensive care unit beds and four step-down beds. The emergency room can handle 100 patients per day. The facility also has a pharmacy and its own water and sanitation system.

Samaritan’s Purse has also opened a 24-hour clinic, or medical stabilization point, at a train station in Lviv, and a mobile medical unit at a large stadium housing refugees in Moldova. Also in Moldova, they are providing hygiene kits to refugee families and delivering food to local churches who will distribute it to fleeing Ukrainians.

Graham said, “Ukrainian families are hurting and in desperate need of physical aid and prayer during this difficult time. “We are deploying life-saving medical care to aid people who are suffering. We want to meet the needs of these families in their darkest moments while pointing them to the light and hope of Jesus Christ.”

Samaritan’s Purse has long been partnering with more than 3,200 churches inside Ukraine. As conflict erupted, they were in the process of distributing 600,00 Operation Christmas Child gift-filled shoeboxes. They remain in contact with ministry partners in the country to see how they can assist during this crisis. Please pray for God to grant them strength and protection.

The world is shocked and horrified by the images of death and destruction coming out of Ukraine, a catastrophe they have not witnessed in Europe since the Second World War. The United Nations report that more than 2.5 million refugees, primarily women and children, have already left Ukraine seeking shelter in nearby countries.

Franklin Graham asked everyone, “Please join me in praying for the people of Ukraine and for this conflict to end quickly.”