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Comfort Doctors Honor 132nd with Commitment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100315-02
Release Date: 3/15/2010 10:15:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Edwardo Proano, USNS Comfort Public Affairs

USNS COMFORT, At Anchor (NNS) -- Sailors embarked on USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) honored 132 years of Navy Medical Corps (NMC) service March. 3 as the hospital ship sat off the coast of Haiti in support of Operation Unified Response (OUR).

NMC was established in 1871 to maintain fleet readiness by having commissioned physicians providing medical care to members of the Navy and Marine Corps team. Since that time, medical capability has evolved as has the mission of NMC.

"Operation Unified Response is a unique chapter in Navy Medical history," said Cmdr. Timothy Donahue, director of surgery aboard Comfort. "Comfort has never been stretched to its full capabilities in a short period of time the way it did [in Haiti]."

During OUR, more than 120 NMC physicians came together to treat 871 patients and perform 843 surgeries in support of USAID-led humanitarian efforts to help the people of Haiti following a 7.0 earthquake.

Doctors participating in the mission came from many different backgrounds. Some participated in the NMC sponsored Health Professional Scholarship program and others came into the service through the Uniform Services University of Health Science. No matter where they came from, though, they all took an oath to serve the United States when and wherever needed.

"I came to the [Medical] Corps through the Health Professional Scholarship program," said Lt. Cmdr. Michele Overton, a trauma doctor aboard Comfort. "I like it because I have gained the experience aboard Navy ships that I wouldn't get in the private sector. I've been to different places around the world improving people's health, and now I'm in Haiti."

While off the coast of Haiti, Comfort's physicians noted the occasion of NMC's birthday quietly, letting the day pass and their dedicated work speak for itself.

"We celebrated NMC's birthday by doing what we do best, taking care of people," said Lt. Cmdr. Elizabeth Leonard, one of the doctors who triaged patients in the ship's casualty receiving area. "This time, there were no cakes, no bells and no whistles. Just the satisfaction of saving lives."