Authors: Hartgerink, Bradley J.¹; Chapman, Louisa E.²; Stevenson, John²; Donahue, Timothy F.³; Pagliara, Claire¹

Source: Military Medicine, Volume 175, Number 9, September 2010 , pp. 638-646(9)

Publisher: AMSUS - Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

Abstract:

ABSTRACT

In 2007, the United States Navy Ship (USNS) COMFORT (T-AH 20), a full-capability medical treatment facility, departed for Partnership for the Americas, her first large-scale humanitarian civic assistance (HCA) mission. Analysis of operational data describes surgical resource utilization. Lessons from previous military humanitarian assistance operations were helpful when placed in the cultural context of Latin America. Premission planning decisions that included time in each port and funding determined the services that were offered to host nations. Surgical, dental, immunizations, preventive medicine, and biomedical repair services had lasting impacts. COMFORT and similar hospital ships are a superior platform to combatant vessels in providing comprehensive surgical care. Medical planning is heavily dependent upon statistics. Collection of additional clinical data on subsequent HCA missions could aid future planning decisions regarding manning, equipment, supplies, and objectives.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Department of the Navy, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED), 2300 E. Street NW, Washington, DC 20372. 2: Immunizations Services Division, National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases, Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Mailstop E-52, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia, 303 3: Urology Service, National Naval Medical Center, 8901 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20889-5600.

Publication date: 2010-09-01

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• Military Medicine is the Association's official monthly journal. The objective of the Journal is to promote awareness of Federal medicine by providing a forum for responsible discussion of common ideas and problems relevant to Federal healthcare. Its mission is: To increase healthcare education by providing scientific and other information to its readers; to facilitate communication; and to offer a prestige publication for members' writings.
  
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