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USNS Comfort update (9/5)

The U.S. Department of Defense has posted a link to the following news release concerning the hospital ship USNS Comfort, which is crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division. The release also is available by clicking HERE Floating Hospital Helps Hundreds in Haiti Posted On: Sep 4 2007 10:16AM By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Tyler Jones and Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John Fields PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Joint service and non-governmental volunteers attached to Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) provided humanitarian medical assistance to hundreds of patients in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sept. 3. U.S. Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, U.S. Public Health Service and Project Hope volunteers offered a variety of services, including primary adult and pediatric care, dentistry, optometry and immunizations at the Elizabeth Germain Hospital as part of Comfort’s on-going humanitarian deployment. U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Janet Sanderson visited the site to speak with patients and medical personnel, praising the team for their hard work and dedication to Comfort’s mission in Haiti. Sanderson also noted that the United States plays an important role in the health care of Haitians. “It’s very important for Haitians to see up close and personal what the United States does for them,” said Sanderson. “We have a major assistance program here in the health care sector, but sometimes you don’t see that. So today, on the TV, on the radio, and talking to families, they’ll be able to see what the U.S. can do for Haiti and for Haiti’s children.” Capt. Linda Brown-Vidal, a nurse corps officer and Comfort site leader at the Elizabeth Germain hospital, said the joint-service teamwork between members of the uniformed services and Project Hope play a pivotal role in the success of the mission. “Today was like a well-oiled machine,” said Brown-Vidal. “Everything was great – the staff worked very well as a team. The assessments of patients, their consultations and everything in between were in sync.” Comfort is in Haiti as part of the ship’s first full-scale humanitarian deployment, which has brought it to Latin America and the Caribbean to provide medical assistance to patients in a dozen countries. The ship’s four-month deployment is in support of the U.S. Southern Command’s Partnership for the America’s initiative, strengthening the bonds between the United States and the Latin American and Caribbean region. ###