A sprawling field hospital in Central Park and a temporary hospital at the Queens stadium that’s home to the U.S. Open will help in the Big Apple’s battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
In Manhattan, the 50,000-square-foot field hospital set up by Samaritan’s Purse — an evangelical Christian relief group led by Franklin Graham, son of the late televangelist Billy Graham — was set to take in patients from the Mount Sinai Health System beginning Tuesday.
The facility consists of 14 tents, 68 patient beds and 10 ventilators, as well as X-ray equipment and a pharmacy to help the city handle the crush of patients suffering from the deadly illness, staffers said Monday.
Meanwhile, an indoor training area at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is being converted into a 350-bed medical facility, USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said Monday.
The facility will likely treat non-COVID-19 patients, but that could change based on need, according to a spokesman for the city’s emergency management office.
“We’re here to help — no two ways about it,” Widmaier said. “New York is our home, we’re all in this together.”
