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Navy Hospital Ship Cares for All Patients

Navy NewStand

Story Number: NNS030326-07
Release Date: 3/26/2003 3:45:00 PM

From U.S. Central Command/5th Fleet Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- USNS Comfort's (T-AH 20) medical staff has treated nearly 20 patients wounded in combat or accidents related to supporting roles for Operation Iraqi Freedom over the past week.

Patients treated aboard have included coalition forces, freedom fighters, Iraqi civilians, as well as a limited number of enemy prisoners of war. Under the Geneva Convention, the 1,000-bed hospital ship has and will continue to treat all patients based on their medical needs.

Many of the patients have required trauma care, as well as level three, specialty surgical care. Casualty receiving staff nurse, Lt. j.g. Karen Ritchie, says some of the specialty surgical care Comfort has used includes orthopedics, cardiology and neurology.

While the total numbers of injured brought to Comfort has been far below its capacity of handling several hundred combat casualties in a short amount of time, Comfort has held up to its requirement to treat all categories of patients.

Ritchie says the response of the medical staff has been incredible, due in large part to the constant training medical teams have been performing since the ships departure from Baltimore Jan. 6.

"Since we have received our first combat casualties, it has been intense," said Ritchie. "But all the hours of training and preparation and drills we have done since we left Baltimore have paid off. I have worked at several other trauma units, and this team of doctors, nurses and corpsman are the most functional team players I have ever seen."

Comfort's Commanding Officer, Capt. Charles Blankenship, says the hospital staff's response to the combat casualties is just an extension of the healthcare they provide normally at their regular duty stations.

"For most of the staff, this is the first time they have seen combat casualties, and they have performed very well," said Blankenship.

Comfort is one of two U.S. Navy hospital ships operated by the Military Sealift Command for the Navy. Comfort features a 50-bed trauma facility, 12 operating rooms and can be configured to accommodate up to 1,000 beds. It is crewed by about 60 civilian mariners that operate the ship and more than 1,000 active-duty Navy medical and support staff that runs the hospital.