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Navy Medicine Provides Relief and Support to Hurricane Katrina Victims

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050909-15
Release Date: 9/9/2005 3:41:00 PM

By Christine A. Mahoney, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED), headquarters of Navy Medicine, is coordinating the Navy's medical support of relief efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Navy Medicine's efforts are utilizing medical staff and supplies from Navy medical facilities across the country.

“The Navy Medicine community is prepared to provide the best in medical care and humanitarian aid to the victims of Hurricane Katrina,” said Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, Chief of Staff, BUMED. “We are constantly training for missions such as disaster relief, and are ready to meet the challenges before us.”

Navy Medicine is involved in many aspects of the relief effort. Medical support aboard Navy ships already in the area and the deployment of the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) are just two examples of the efforts underway.

A team of 84 medical professionals, based out of Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Fla., deployed with USS Bataan (LHD 5) Sept. 2. The team is currently providing medical support in Biloxi, Miss., and New Orleans.

Comfort is expected to provide medical support to the Joint Force Maritime Component Command (JFMCC) by providing medical care to patients while allowing local area hospitals time to recover from storm damage while still meeting the health care needs of the civilian population.

Comfort has unique capabilities for humanitarian relief missions, including helicopter lift capability, advanced medical equipment, berthing and personnel support, as well as supplies to support medical operations ashore.

Comfort's crew includes Sailors from the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC), Bethesda, Md., and many other Navy medical commands across the country.

According to NNMC Commanding Officer Rear Adm. M. Robinson Jr., “Humanitarian assistance is something we (Navy Medicine) will do more and more of. This is part of what we do in military medicine.”

According to Hunter, BUMED will continue to monitor the situation in the Gulf Coast and work closely with Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and JFMCC to provide additional medical and humanitarian support as needed.