US Southern Command is hailing the hospital ship USNS Comfort’s visit to St. Kitts last week as another successful stop on the ship’s ninth medical mission in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
The October 5-10 stint was the first Comfort visit to St. Kitts and Nevis and the seventh to the region since 2007. During the six-day mission in Basseterre the ship’s medical teams provided care aboard the Comfort and at two land-based medical sites.
US SouthCom reported that more than 800 medical professionals provided care for 3,677 patients at the two shore-based medical sites and performed 25 surgeries aboard the ship.
The Comfort team provided an array of medical and dental services to residents free of cost. These included
Basic medical evaluation and treatment
§ Preventive medicine
§ Dental screenings and treatment
§ Optometry screenings
§ Eyewear distribution
§ General surgery
§ Ophthalmologic surgery
§ And Public health training
In addition to the free medical care, Comfort’s multinational staff coordinated several subject matter expert exchanges with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), which focused on search and rescue of survivors at sea, diving at a sunken shipwreck, and shipboard firefighting. This allowed four nation’s militaries and seven civilian agencies to share techniques for overwater and overland search and rescue, including demonstrating helicopter rescue capabilities.
Navy Adm. Craig Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said Comfort’s mission is one of the many ways the unit is strengthening partnerships with America and the Caribbean. He said the team of professionals onboard Comfort were dedicated to making a true difference by working with the doctors and nurses throughout the region to deliver world class care, build medical readiness disaster capacities and lasting relationships.
Wendy Phipps, minister of state responsible for health thanked the US government and particularly the armed forces, saying it was the first time St. Kitts-Nevis had such an extensive visit, with medical intervention being offered as an effort to extend the bilateral relations that the federation continues to enjoy with the United States of America.”