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Carl Vinson Touches Hearts, Saves Lives at Haitian Clinic

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100122-43
Release Date: 1/22/2010 6:11:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Candice Villarreal, USS Carl Vinson Public Affairs

CARREFOUR, Haiti (NNS) -- USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 medical personnel provided emergency medical assistance Jan. 21 to hundreds of injured Haitian citizens at the Killick Haitian Coast Guard Clinic in Carrefour, Haiti.

Sixteen Carl Vinson Sailors have been working closely with members of the U.S. Army, Air Force and Coast Guard to treat almost 200 patients a day for orthopedic injuries, fractures, blunt trauma, wound infections and burns.

"The earthquake made many people sleep in the street without [their] families and people everywhere [were] very hurt," said Culdon J. Miguelsonn, a Carrefour resident and translator for the U.S. military at Killick. "But when we [saw] America come to help us, we slept with joyous hearts. People [were] running and saying 'America is here! America is here!' and 'God is good.'"

The clinic, swarmed with hundreds of injured earthquake patients daily whose injuries ranged in severity, became a triage center and operating room immediately after the military arrived. Helicopters performing medical evacuations (MEDEVACs) from Killick transported nearly 150 of the most severely injured patients to Carl Vinson, USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), USS Bataan (LHD 5), Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Sacred Heart Hospital in northern Haiti.

"I think we are giving the people of Haiti a lot of hope in a time of desperation," said CVW-17 Flight Surgeon Lt. Kristina Rogish. "We are doing everything we can, around-the-clock, to show them the good will America has for all in need, and they trust us to take care of them."

Victims' friends and family members carried patients in on makeshift stretchers fashioned from doors, wheelbarrows, blankets and chairs for the Sailors to treat. Food and water were distributed to patients awaiting treatment, and chaplains prayed for and comforted Haitians of all ages.

"Seeing the patients smile and saying 'God bless you' touches us most," said Rogish. "They're so appreciative."

Carl Vinson and CVW-17 arrived in Haiti Jan. 15 to support Operation Unified Response by providing humanitarian aid and emergency assistance after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the island nation. Operation Unified Response is a joint military operation providing U.S. military capabilities in support of international relief operations in Haiti.

"The U.S. Navy's efforts in Haiti, and even Killick, have been profound," said Rogish. "We responded very quickly, redirected [from our original course], and arrived in record time. In the end, though, it's the joint effort between all branches of our military that have been crucial to every success we continue to see."

Operation Unified Response is part of a larger U.S. response to a request from the government of Haiti for urgent humanitarian aid. The U.S. military is working closely with the Deptartment of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the international community to provide life-sustaining services to the people of Haiti. All military efforts are in support of government of Haiti, USAID, and the U.N. Stabilization Mission.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/cusns/.