The Christian Charity Behind Central Park’s Field Hospital

By Emily Drooby

New York City hospitals are stretched to the breaking point amid the COVID-19 crisis, and a 68-bed emergency facility in Central Park made possible by a Christian charity is being called a godsend.

When the Navy’s USNS Comfort steamed into New York Harbor, another beacon of hope was being pitched in the park: a field hospital built in Central Park’s East Meadow.

The facility was set up by Mount Sinai Hospital and Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian organization that provides aid all over the world.

Currents News spoke with Brock Kreitzburg, who heads their international disaster response unit.

“Our mission is to help people who are hurting both physically and spiritually around the world,” he explained. “This is an opportunity to show the love of Christ both in action and in word.”

The relief organization is run by Franklin Graham, son of televangelist Billy Graham.

They’re treating people infected with COVID-19, easing the crunch at nearby Mount Sinai. So far, the field hospital has treated at least 12 patients.

Inside the tents are some 90 doctors, nurses and other professionals on the job.

“That’s what we do,” Brock said. “We have been responding to disasters around the world for the last 30 years. We responded to earthquakes, hurricanes, ebola back in 2014. So, God has set us up to be able to prepare well.”

The organization’s policy asks volunteers to adhere to a statement of faith, which includes that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

This has been criticized in New York.

But Samaritan’s Purse insists they help everyone. They don’t discriminate, and they have the track-record to prove it.

The Central Park hospital comes just two weeks after they set up an identical one in Italy to deal with the brutal coronavirus crisis there.

According to Brock, while there’s no other field hospitals planned in the U.S. yet, they’ll go where they’re needed.

Ask the Doctor: Investigating the Spread and Treatment of Coronavirus

Currents News Staff

Medical professionals are hard at work, searching for possible treatments for infected coronavirus patients.

One technique involves the blood of people who’ve recovered from the disease.

There is also the drug hydroxychloroquine, which some physicians are using and the president has talked about it as a possible treatment.

A drug to prevent the virus is at least a year away, leaving many questions surrounding the crisis and how to combat it.

A scientific panel is reportedly telling the White House the disease can be spread not just by sneezes or coughs, but also just by talking or breathing.

There have been conflicting accounts over whether everyone should wear a mask. Now, people are being encouraged to cover their faces.

To help Currents News answer some of these questions and debates is Dr. Robert Tiballi of the Catholic Medical Association.

Send Currents News your questions about the coronavirus at [email protected]. And tune in on Fridays- the doctor could have an answer.

Cuomo Signs Executive Order to Bring More Ventilators in NYC Hospitals

Currents News Staff

April 3, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order which will allow the state to take ventilators and other equipment from hospitals in areas of the state that haven’t been hit as hard by the virus.

“I don’t have an option, and I’m not going to get in a situation where we know we are running out of ventilators and we could have people dying because there are no ventilators,” he said. “But there are hospitals in other parts of the state that have ventilators that they are not using.”

He says the equipment will be returned or replaced.

“What is fascinating is the normal business has dropped off dramatically for a hospital,” Cuomo added.

Ever since the stay at home order was put in place in the state, Cuomo noted fewer accidents, and since crime has dropped, fewer traumas.

That’s why the Javits Center temporary hospital, which was supposed to just care for non-COVID patients, is now open to people who are sick with the disease.

Cuomo once again called on businesses to make the supplies hospitals need.

“It is unbelievable to me that in New York state, in the United States of America, we can’t make these materials and that we are all shopping China to get these materials and we’re all competing against each other,” he said. “These are not complex materials.”

The governor also talked about the toll the virus crisis is taking on him.

“It’s hard to stay up all night watching those numbers come in, numbers of death tick up, and know that you’re in charge of the ship,” he said. “Eventually you go through the darkness and you find the light.”

Des: There’s so much we don’t know about this new coronavirus, but one of the things that researchers are starting to look at is the effect the change of seasons might have on the spread of the disease and whether weather might have an impact.

Holy Week Mass Schedule 2020

Saint Kevin Catholic Academy Students Sing ‘That’s What Friends Are For’

Currents News Staff

While learning online at home during the coronavirus pandemic, students from Saint Kevin Catholic Academy were inspired by a video of celebrities singing the song “Imagine.”

Following their lead, third grader Francesca created her own video with her classmates singing the song “That’s What Friends Are For.”

Who Should Decide When Someone Lives or Dies?

Currents News Staff

The pandemic is raising the most fundamental moral questions about life and death. New York’s health care system is overwhelmed, running out of hospital beds and life-saving equipment.

A huge issue facing doctors and nurses: they don’t have enough ventilators for all the patients who need them. Now, the prospect of medical rationing has arisen.

The Emergency Medical Services Council of New York is issuing guidance to EMS first responders that if a cardiac arrest victim’s heart can’t be restarted, don’t bring that person to the hospital. Instead, the patient will be left to die.

Deciding who gets treated and who doesn’t is a moral issue as much as a medical one.

How should we as a Church behave during this terrible crisis and could lines get blurred?

Joining Currents News to discuss the ethical considerations is John Brehany, an ethicist with the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

How the Coronavirus Can Impact Pregnancies

Currents News Staff

For expecting parents, the birth of a child is a life-changing event. There are the usual fears and anxieties of course, but during a global pandemic, those can be multiplied ten-fold.

First things first: some good news.

When it comes to the coronavirus, there is no current evidence that pregnant women are at a higher risk of catching the disease.

However, a woman’s immune system is lowered during pregnancy, making them more susceptible to illness in general.

So, continue to avoid anyone who is sick, protect yourself by coughing or sneezing into your elbow and wash your hands.

When it comes time to deliver, you may only be allowed one visitor with you at the hospital.

That’s because COVID-19 is extremely contagious, and hospital’s resources across the country are spread thin.

Check with your hospital to see if there are any changes to their policies.

What if the mother has been diagnosed with COVID-19?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t have enough data to determine if a mother can pass the virus to her baby while in utero or during birth.

In either case, separating the baby and mother may be recommended to protect the infant’s weak immune system.

There is no current evidence showing the virus is found in breastmilk. But if a mother has tested positive for coronavirus, the decision on whether or not to breastfeed should also be made with her health care providers.

Cuomo Calls on Local Businesses to Help Fill Medical Supply Need

Currents News Staff

More and more people are going online to apply for unemployment benefits. Just last week, 6.6 million filed new jobless claims in the U.S.. According to the Department of Labor, that brings the two-week total to 10 million Americans filing for unemployment insurance because of the coronavirus essentially shutting down the economy.

In New York, another thing that continues to go up is the number of new cases. But Governor Andrew Cuomo notes that the number of patients leaving the hospital is also increasing.

“Seventy-four hundred patients discharged, that’s up 1,292. That’s good news,” he said. “The number of people going to the hospital is going up. The number of people going out of the hospital is going up.”

But the virus continues to take a toll. It’s putting a strain on funeral homes, so the city has set up 45 mobile morgues. Meanwhile, hospitals remain overwhelmed.

“If a person comes in and needs a ventilator and you don’t have a ventilator, the person dies,” Cuomo explained.

With that blunt reality in mind, the state needs more ventilators to help patients with COVID-19. According to the governor, right now there’s only enough in the stockpile for six more days.

“Supplies are an ongoing challenge, the PPE is an ongoing challenge. The gowns, the gloves, and the ventilators,” he said.

So, Cuomo put a call out to local businesses to start making supplies, showing a phone number and email address for them to connect.

“If you have capacity to make these products, we will purchase them and we will pay a premium..and we will pay to convert or transition your manufacturing facility to a facility that can do this,” he said.

The governor also gave a shout out to the volunteers who are helping us fight this battle, saying, “God bless America. Twenty-one thousand people have volunteered from out of state and come in to New York State. I thank them. I thank their patriotism. I thank their dedication and passion to their mission of public health.”

Currents News full broadcast for Thurs, 4/2/20

On the newscast: The coronavirus crisis is killing American jobs. At the same time, more New Yorkers are getting out of the hospital, cured. But new infections are also up; Catholic school kids in Brooklyn and Queens are learning their lessons, even though classrooms are closed; We’ll have some insights for pregnant moms who are worried about the pandemic; And ‘Bells of Hope’ are about to ring out in the Brooklyn Diocese.

Watch weeknights at 7:00 pm EST on NET-TV in the New York City area on Spectrum, Optimum, and Fios. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications about new content.

Remembering St. Pope John Paul II

By Melissa Butz

It’s been 15 years since the death of the pope who marked an era in Catholic history.

Fifteen years ago today, at 9:37 p.m., St. Peter’s Square was completely full and millions of Catholics around the world were weeping: Pope John Paul II had died.

The last blessing Pope John Paul II gave pilgrims on earth was on Wednesday, March 30, 2005. The evident difficulty was telling of his final hours.

The day after, he was unable to celebrate Mass, and he received his last communion.

The Holy Father’s spokesman confirmed the end was near.

“The pope is conscious, extraordinarily calm, with the relative problems of respiratory distress,” explained Joaquín Navarro-Valls of the Vatican at the time. “It’s a new image for me. Logical shortness of breath… If there is anything new we will stay in touch.”

On April 2, 2005, the light went on in his room and it was confirmed – he had died.

The rite of recognition and the blessing of his remains took place in the Apostolic Palace. Then also, the destruction of his ring and sealing of his apartments.

An estimated three million people came to pay him homage.

Many leaders came to his funeral. For a few hours, they seemed to put aside any

disputes, as a tribute to a common friend.

“We can be sure that our beloved pope is now at the window of the Father’s house. He sees us and he blesses us. Yes, bless us, Holy Father,” said Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Just six years later, he was beatified by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, before Pope Francis declared him a saint on April 27, 2014.

His tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica, is now one of the most-visited sites by pilgrims.

Saint Pope John Paul II had a 27 year papacy.

He suffered from Parkinson’s for 13 years before his death at age 84. His funeral was at the Vatican on April 8, 2005 with around three million pilgrims in attendance.