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Joint Force Bio-Med Techs Repair Equipment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080907-04
Release Date: 9/7/2008 6:38:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist David G. Crawford, Continuing Promise Public Affairs

SANTA MARTA, Colombia (NNS) -- A team of Navy and Air Force biomedical equipment repair technicians, currently embarked aboard USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), visited Candelaria Medical Clinic here Sept. 3 during the humanitarian/civic assistance (HCA) mission Continuing Promise (CP) 2008.

Their job is to repair, test, and train personnel on medical equipment.

A majority of the medical equipment in the Colombian hospitals and clinics is donated. Some of the equipment is nonfunctioning and others do not have the manuals.

"We can fix medical equipment so the doctors can better diagnose and better treat the patients," said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class John Renner.

Bio-med technician, Staff Sgt. Doug Cox noted that many of the small medical clinics in Colombia do not have the staff to repair or the money to buy new equipment. Over the last few days here, the team will try to repair and assist staff personnel as much as they can before leaving Colombia.

"A lot of the equipment is in really bad condition," said Renner as he worked on a blood pressure cuff. "Most of the equipment can be repaired with simple things such as light bulbs, and new power cable. But these clinics and hospitals just don't have the means to be able to do these simple things."

Both Cox and Renner feel that the CP mission is doing great things for the people of Colombia and the other countries that will be visited on the CP 2008 mission.

"We can provide a service that no one else can and it has longer lasting impact, helping doctors to take care of their patients," said Renner. "It feels good to help people. I get to do what I was trained to do and people truly appreciate what we are doing."

CP 2008 personnel will work closely with the Colombian government and organizations during the next two weeks providing medical and engineering services in the Santa Marta and Cienaga regions.

After Colombia, Kearsarge will visit Panama, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana.

The mission of CP is to conduct civil-military operations including humanitarian and civic assistance as well as veterinary, medical, dental and civil engineering support to six partner nations and to send a strong message of U.S. compassion, support and commitment to Central and South America and the Caribbean.

The CP Caribbean Phase is the second of two HCA deployments to the Southern Command area of focus for 2008. The first CP deployment was conducted by USS Boxer (LHD 4) in the Pacific.

For more news on Continuing Promise, visit U.S. Southern Command's Website at www.southcom.mil.>
For more news from USS Kearsarge, visit www.navy.mil/local/lhd3/.