Samaritan’s Purse medical director Lauren Ralston says the organization’s field hospital and mobile medical teams have treated more than a thousand patients across Saipan in the weeks since Super Typhoon Sinlaku, describing the response as a partnership-driven effort that provides care to anyone who needs it — regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
“We will see anybody who comes into our hospital. It’s not important to us — regardless of citizenship, regardless of where you came from or how long you’ve been here, we will take care of you,” she said.
Ralston said Samaritan’s Purse deployed an outpatient emergency facility to support the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation and launched a mobile medical unit that has been conducting clinics throughout Saipan. The mobile team, working closely with CHCC’s public health division, reached its 1,000th patient early in the response.
“They’re able to go into homes and provide basic medical care for free, as well as medication refills and prescriptions,” she said.
The medical team includes three doctors, two physician assistants, five nurses and two paramedics. Ralston said the most common cases involve minor wounds from storm debris, heat rashes linked to prolonged power outages, and medication replacement for residents who lost prescriptions when their homes were damaged. More serious cases are triaged to CHCC for X‑rays or advanced care.
On Tinian, Samaritan’s Purse provided Clinic Restart Modules — tents, generators and medical supplies — to help local clinics resume operations. The organization has also distributed generators, blankets, jerry cans, mosquito nets, solar lights, tarps and other relief supplies across Saipan and Tinian.
Ralston said the response has been strengthened by close coordination with local churches and government agencies. “Seeing how this community cares for each other inspires us,” she said. “Long after we’re gone, those church partners will remain here and continue pouring into the people they’ve been serving.”
Samaritan’s Purse is an international Christian humanitarian organization based in Boone, N.C. The group responds to disasters worldwide with emergency medical teams, water purification systems, shelter materials and other critical relief services. Its mission, the organization says, is to “bring help in Jesus’ name” to communities facing crisis.
