Story highlights Syrian American Medical Society is a medical relief organization

It has a network of 110 medical facilities and 1,700 doctors

(CNN) Almost 5 million Syrians have fled their country during the ongoing civil war. According to the United Nations, almost 400,000 have died so far in the fighting.

For many of those left behind, life is a daily struggle for survival amid airstrikes and shelling.

Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) is a US-based relief organization providing medical care in Syria as the civil war rages. The charity has about 1,700 doctors working in 110 medical facilities that have treated 3 million people across the country. SAMS provides immediate trauma and intensive care -- as well as offering specialty, long-term care.

Its medical team works against the backdrop of constant fighting. Dr. Ahmad Tarakji, president of SAMS, said that hospitals are prime targets for airstrikes. The organization's largest trauma hospital was bombed in October.

"It's like waking up from death. You cannot see a lot because the dust is all over the place," said Tarakji. "You see blood on your clothing, and you don't know if it's yours or somebody else's."

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