Humanitarian Mission on USNS Comfort, a Floating Hospital

The USNS Comfort is a floating hospital and one of the largest U.S. trauma facilities. A converted supertanker, this U.S. Navy hospital ship recently returned to Norfolk, Virginia, after a four-month humanitarian mission. Experienced and highly-skilled CDC medical personnel and other CDC staff joined an international team aboard the hospital ship and traveled to 12 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Healthcare professionals from the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) and U.S. Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Army, and Canadian Forces, along with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) helped provide healthcare services to people both on and off this giant, floating hospital. Services included adult and pediatric primary care, preventive medicine, dental care, optometry, and more.

More than 200 organizations were represented on USNS Comfort. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) was represented by USPHS from a number of agencies, including CDC, Indian Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, Health Resource Services Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. Other agencies and programs such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security, and the Bureau of Prisons joined the international healthcare team on the USNS Comfort.

The USNS Comfort hospital ship was deployed from June 15 through October 15, 2007, as a demonstration of continued U.S. commitment to South and Latin America and the Caribbean. The deployment was a collaborative effort between the U.S., partner nations, and NGOs to provide humanitarian assistance, in support of the US Southern Command’s Partnership for the Americas initiative.

Providing care to patients was not the only mission the USNS Comfort set out to accomplish during the four months in South and Latin America and the Caribbean. US personnel had a unique opportunity to train in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. For example, senior environmental health officer Craig Shepherd adapted to the heat, the dirt, and the less than ideal working conditions to conduct evaluations and provide feedback on environmental health issues. He met with health officials from host nations at various sites to promote teamwork and future collaboration.

Giant Hospital Ship Offers Impressive Health Facilities

The ship itself is a first-class facility, designed to receive 300 surgical patients a day. Patients arrive onboard by helicopter or small boat. Patients are assessed for medical treatment then routed to surgery or other services depending on the severity of their wounds or medical condition. And while many patients are treated on the ship, many more are seen at various medical locations in each of the countries. Over the course of the mission, USNS Comfort healthcare providers saw 98,658 patients, gave 32,322 immunizations, and dispersed 122,245 pharmaceuticals.

The USNS Comfort is one of the largest US trauma facilities and, even at sea, it offers a full spectrum of surgical and medical services. As long as three football fields, the ship has a total bed capacity of 1,000 patients. There are 12 operating rooms and 4 X-ray rooms, as well as a pharmacy, physical therapy and burn care center, dental suite, and laundry facility.

Additional information on the recent USNS Comfort humanitarian effort in South and Latin America and the Caribbean

• US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps