By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Karsten

USNS Comfort Public Affairs

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (NNS) -- A closing ceremony commemorating hospital ship USNS Comfort’s (T-AH 20) completed mission at the Project DAWN Health Care Center in Guyana, was held Sept. 30.

The ceremony was one of seven ceremonies completing a week-long humanitarian visit marking the largest-scale visit thus far on the four-month mission.

Project DAWN, which stands for Donors and Workers Now, is a U.S. nonprofit health care clinic that has provided free medical care and education to the local community since 1985. Dr. Carmen Gannon, director and founder, said the results of this visit have been extremely helpful.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have the Comfort come and help people who don’t have what it takes to get the help that they need, whether financially or availability,” Gannon said. “For Project DAWN, the Comfort has been a tremendous asset, and we hope you all come back.”

Capt. Linda Brown-Vidal, Comfort site leader for Project DAWN, presented Gannon and the entire medical staff with a framed poster before both medical crews hugged and said their goodbyes.

Comfort staff consisting of U.S. Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Public Health Service and Canadian Forces, as well as non-government organization Project Hope; provided primary adult and pediatric care, dental, optometry, physical therapy, veterinary and construction services during the course of the visit.

Comfort is on a four-month humanitarian deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean providing medical care to patients in a dozen countries.

For more news from USNS Comfort, visit www.news.navy.mil/local/tah20/.