Health Diplomacy Weekly Update
Week # 4: 5 July – 11 July
In response to both Presidential and Secretarial initiatives, the Office of Force Readiness and Deployment in the Office of Public Health and Science’s Office of the Surgeon General, is currently deploying teams of commissioned officers on two separate Navy ships undertaking health diplomacy missions. The USNS COMFORT is on a 4 month mission to 12 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The USS PELELIU is on a 3 month mission to 6 Pacific Rim and Pacific Island countries.
USNS COMFORT
USPHS Officer-in-Charge (OIC): CAPT Craig Shepherd
- COMFORT arrived in Colon, Panama 6 July. They are now traversing the Panama Canal and will on their way to Panama City soon. Interested viewer may be able to see the COMFORT pass through one of the sets of locks at Panama Canal Authority: Live Camera
- Current USPHS detachment: 6 physicians, 2 dentists, 4 dental hygienists, 2 nurses, 2 environmental health officers (including OIC), 1 engineer, 1 veterinarian.
- USPHS Team 1 began making visits ashore in Colon, Panama shortly after arrival. Unlike previous countries, the COMFORT was able to pull into port alongside the dock, making it easier for health care personnel to get ashore. Primary care and dental services were provided at the Al Brown Arena a short distance from the COMFORT.
- Everyone on the COMFORT is working very hard. The USPHS officers, with their Navy, Air Force, Army, partner country and NGO colleagues are seeing many patients, both ashore and on the ship. To date, the COMFORT has had nearly 55,000 total patient encounters for the deployment, of which more than 29,000 were in Colon alone.
- There has been extensive print and broadcast media coverage of the COMFORT mission including many references to the USPHS. Interestingly, LCDR Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner (USPHS) was interviewed about the COMFORT mission on CNN Español.
- Once in Panama City, Team 1 will disembark the ship and return back to the USA and be replaced by USPHS Team 2.
USS PELELIU
USPHS OIC: CAPT Kathleen Downs
- PELELIU has left the Philippines and is on its way to Da Nang, Vietnam.
- Current USPHS detachment: 1 physician, 2 environmental engineers, 1 pharmacist (OIC)
- CAPT Watson, CDR Devoney and LCDR Sallach returned to the ship after 10 days ashore in a camp for internally displaced persons outside Legaspi, Philippines. The ship then departed for the southern Philippines where it retrieved US Navy personnel.
- As the PELELIU makes its way to Vietnam, CAPT Downs is preparing several presentations on public health and emergency response issues, which she will give to officials there. USPHS Team 1 is preparing summaries of their experiences and accomplishments to date.
- Publicity about the PELELIU has begun to include references to USPHS personnel. This can be seen at the following link: Pacific Partnership marks mid-point in the Philippines
- Once in Da Nang, Vietnam, Team 1 will disembark the ship and return back to the USA and be replaced by USPHS Team 2.
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Page last modified: June 29, 2007