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USNS Mercy Completes Humanitarian Assistance Mission to Papua New Guinea

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050523-05
Release Date: 5/23/2005 2:54:00 PM

 

By Journalist 1st Class (SW) Joshua Smith, USNS Mercy Public Affairs

ABOARD USNS MERCY (NNS) -- The Military Sealift Command (MSC) hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) successfully completed its humanitarian assistance mission to Papua New Guinea May 20 and is now sailing east toward its homeport of San Diego, having provided medical care to more than 8,000 residents of Papua New Guinea.

Prior to Mercy’s arrival in Papua New Guinea, a small team of medical personnel cross-decked to the MSC combat stores ships USNS Niagara Falls (T-AFS 3), which sailed within flying distance for embarked MH-60S helicopters from Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron (HSC) 25, to ferry personnel and their medical supplies to the camps on a daily basis.

“The people in the camps were very hospitable and extremely grateful for our help,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Cyrena Williams.

Meanwhile, Mercy arrived off the coast of Madang, Papua New Guinea, May 16, and personnel commenced humanitarian assistance operations at Modilon General Hospital the following day. Between May 17 and 20, Mercy’s staff completed 27,931 medical procedures, conducted 27 surgeries, performed 114 dental examinations, 148 dental extractions and prescribed more than 1,000 pairs of glasses.

In addition to providing medical care, Mercy staff visited area schools to give lectures on wide ranges of important topics. The ship’s Nurse Corps officers gave classes at the Lutheran School of Nursing in Madang on topics such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the initial assessment of a patient coming into the emergency room and wound care, while hospital corpsmen, dental technicians and culinary specialists visited local grade schools to teach kids the importance of proper dental hygiene and the essentials of maintaining a proper diet.

Upon Mercy’s successful completion of operations, the staff of Modilon held a special ceremony to thank Mercy’s crew for lending valuable assistance to their country. At the ceremony, Papuans dressed in traditional clothing and performed dances to the beat of a traditional drum. The staff had also set aside small patches of ground for each of Mercy’s department heads to plant a tree.

“It was really a fitting end to the operation,” said Information Systems Technician 1st Class (SW) Jose Salazar. “You could really tell the people appreciated all that we did for them by that ceremony alone. At the end, they even gave out gifts to the crew that they’d made by hand.”

With the mission to Papua New Guinea complete, Mercy’s first deployment since Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1991 draws to a close. Following a brief port visit in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Mercy will return to San Diego.