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Rota's Fleet Hospital 8 Receives First Combat Casualties

Navy NewStand

Story Number: NNS030327-01
Release Date: 3/27/2003 10:05:00 AM

By Chief Journalist (SW) Dan Smithyman, Naval Station Rota, Spain, Public Affairs

ROTA, Spain (NNS) -- Seven injured servicemembers arrived for treatment at Fleet Hospital (FH) 8 aboard Naval Station Rota late March 26.

Five of the seven are being treated for combat-related injuries, while the other two are being treated for non-combatant injuries or illnesses.

Capt. Pat Kelly, FH-8 commanding officer, explained the servicemembers, who represent the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, are all in stable condition and will remain in Rota until they are well enough to return to the Central Command area of operation or to the United States.

"The combat casualties are primarily shrapnel or bullet wound casualties," Kelly said. "Some may require surgical intervention, but they are all stable at this time."

FH-8 was opened Feb. 24 at Naval Station Rota to provide medical support for Operation Enduring Freedom and the global war on terrorism. The hospital is a modular, rapid-assembly facility that supports a variety of operational scenarios, including humanitarian operations.

"The field hospital has all the same specialty care and services (as a fixed hospital). It has the same number of operating rooms, the same type of nursing support service, the same, and in some cases many more, intensive care units," Kelly said. "So the fact that this hospital is not made of brick and mortar does not compromise the quality of care. The infection control rates are the same or better, so there's no compromise based on the fact that this hospital is put up in tents."

The hospital is designed to provide advanced medical and surgical care following treatment at forward operation areas and is a waypoint for patients to transit to medical facilities located in the continental United States or back to their originating units.

Naval Station Rota is strategically located near the Straits of Gibraltar and is the halfway point between the United States and Southwest Asia. Because of this ideal location, the base is able to provide invaluable support to U.S. Atlantic Fleet ships and aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea and to U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command units transiting into or through Europe.