Samaritan’s Purse to close 30-bed field hospital in Lenoir

Charlotte Observer
·2 min read

Samaritan’s Purse said they will be closing a temporary emergency COVID-19 field hospital recently opened in Lenoir.

The 30-bed hospital, which was constructed in the parking lot of the Caldwell Memorial Hospital and built in just seven days, opened on Jan. 7. It’s aim was to provide regional COVID-19 care support for those living in western North Carolina.

Officials say the hospital will be closed on Wednesday, Feb. 3, and that local healthcare systems will now be able to meet the needs of the community. A closing ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m.

Inside ‘the hot zone.’ How a western NC field hospital launched in a week.

“We are so thankful to be able to close the field hospital as this means that case numbers have reached a point where the local healthcare system will be able to meet the need,” officials with Samaritan’s Purse said about the closing.

Samaritan’s Purse says that since the hospital opened, medical personnel have cared for 78 patients at the 30-bed unit.

Edward Graham spoke on behalf of Samaritan’s at the groundbreaking ceremony on Jan. 7.

“With Samaritan’s Purse, I feel like God has entrusted us with, really, with our volunteers and the people that come to work with us, our talent,” said Graham. “And God expects us to go out and use that.”

While it was open, the temporary campus serviced five health systems:

▪ Caldwell UNC Health Care (Lenoir)

▪ Appalachian Regional Healthcare System (Boone)

▪ Catawba Valley Health System (Hickory)

▪ Carolinas Healthcare System Blue Ridge (Morganton)

▪ Frye Regional Medical Center (Hickory)

Caldwell UNC was specifically selected because of its central location to the above healthcare systems.

President and CEO of Caldwell UNC Healthcare Laura Easton said before the opening that they hoped to serve those affected in more rural areas of the state, which have been particularly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Health leaders said the region’s medical systems were recently overwhelmed and over-capacity.

The hospital consisted of a team of 46 disaster response specialists, including 24 medical professionals.