NC nonprofit builds emergency hospital in Central Park to help NYC cope with influx of COVID-19 cases

NEW YORK (WTVD) -- The North Carolina-based relief organization Samaritan's Purse opened an emergency field hospital in New York City to help with the COVID-19 response.

Nearly half of all U.S. cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, have happened in New York City, pushing area hospitals over capacity.

To help alleviate the overflow at Mount Sinai Hospital near Central Park, Samaritan's Purse built a 68-bed emergency facility.

"Samaritan's Purse has been asked to help in New York as the state and their medical infrastructure have been overwhelmed by the coronavirus," said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse, in a written statement. "We are grateful to be working alongside Mount Sinai Health System to help meet this critical need. In a time of crisis, we all have to come together to help people who are suffering."

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The New York emergency field hospital opened less than two weeks after Samaritan's Purse opened a similar facility in Italy.

ABC11 spoke with nurse Kelly Sites in March as she volunteered at that Italy facility.

Samaritan's Purse is a christian organization based in Boone, North Carolina, that works in more than 100 countries to respond in crisis situations to help victims of disaster, poverty, famine and war.

Note: The video in this article is from March 22 when ABC11 spoke to a nurse volunteering with Samaritan's Purse in Italy.