(COMPLETED - See USNS Comfort’s 2009 humanitarian deployment)

USNS Comfort’s 2007 humanitarian mission was a major component of the president’s “Advancing the Cause of Social Justice in the Western Hemisphere” initiative.  Comfort visited 12 Central American, South American and Caribbean nations where its embarked medical crew provided free health care services to communities in need.  The mission offered valuable training to U.S. military personnel while promoting U.S. goodwill in the region.  In all, the civilian and military medical team treated more than 98,000 patients, provided 380,000 treatments and performed 1,170 surgeries.

Notes Comfort Photos   A dental patient speaks with U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Salina Ogg, a surgical technician attached to hospital ship USNS Comfort, in East Bank Demerara, Guyana, Sept. 26, 2007.  See more than 500 hi-res photos from Comfort’s mission in the Comfort photo gallery.     COMFORT PHOTO GALLERY     On June 15, 2007, USNS Comfort departed Norfolk, Va., beginning a four-month, 11,680 nautical mile deployment that took the ship and her crew to 12 nations.  The U.S. Southern Command-sponsored mission was the first of its kind to the region.  The mission wrapped up in October of 2007.   Comfort was manned by a joint, interagency crew totaling more than 740 personnel. Of that number, more than 500 made up the medical crew comprised of Sailors, Coastguardsmen, Airmen, Soldiers, Canadian troops and U.S. Public Health Service health care professionals along with representatives from non-governmental health organizations, like Project Hope and Operation Smile. Comfort was operated and navigated by a crew of 68 civil service mariners (CIVMARS) from the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC).   What the Comfort crew provided: Medical: Their primary focus was to support medical humanitarian assistance efforts ashore, providing a range of health care services.  A secondary mission was outpatient health service support aboard the ship.   During the deployment, Comfort’s medical staff: 4    Conducted 1,170 surgeries 4    Administered 32,322 immunizations 4    Dispensed 122,245 pharmaceuticals 4    Issued 24,242 eyeglasses   Veterinarian: The veterinarian staff treated 17,772 animals, a critical health care service that helps prevent diseases that could be passed from animals and livestock to a population.   Dental:  Dental care was also a major mission priority.  Dentists and staff treated more than 25,000 patients, providing: 4    3,968 teeth extractions 4    3,931 fillings 4    7,042 sealants 4    20,561 fluoride applications   Operation Smile, an international medical charity that provides free surgeries to children from developing countries with facial deformities, worked alongside Comfort’s dental staff in Nicaragua and Peru.  They performed more than 50 cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries and assisted with pre-screening efforts during the hospital ship’s visit to Colombia.    Medical Training:  Members of the ship’s medical staff partnered with Project Hope to conduct more than 1,000 training sessions for approximately 28,628 students, including preventive medicine training for patients and health procedures training for medical providers.   Other: A SEABEE detachment from the East Coast-based Mobile Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202 conducted more than 20 construction and restoration projects at local schools and health care facilities. Also, the U.S. Navy Showband from Norfolk, Va., performed in each port.  Additionally, Navy bio-medical technicians repaired more than 1,000 pieces of medical equipment at local health facilities.   The following is a brief breakdown of each mission:

Commander’s  Web Log: CLICK HERE to view mission commander’s weekly web journal entries. Quick Links 4 USNS Comfort 4 State Department`s Bureau of W. Hemisphere Affairs 4 President’s “Advancing the Cause of Social Justice in the Western Hemisphere” 4 Project Hope 4 Operation Smile 4 Military Sealift Command 4 U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command 4 U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services` Global Health Affairs 4 U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps 4 Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service Key Points   4 This mission incorporated various non-government organizations and government agencies, such as Operation Smile, Project Hope,  U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Health and Human Services.   4 A variety of medical conditions and concerns are common to the region.  This deployment helped share best-practices for the most effective, economical treatments that can be made available by regional medical teams.   4 Comfort’s deployment to the region exemplified the U.S. commitment to cooperative partnerships in the region.   4 A key element of this deployment was the potential for a variety of medical staffs to collectively address regional medical concerns and develop effective, economical solutions that can be used through the region.   4 This deployment provided another opportunity for U.S.  military services to work with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) so that strong partnerships are in place and can be called upon in the event of a regional situation that requires cooperative solutions.

Patients Treated Patient Encounters Seabee-led Construction Projects Belize (June 20-26) 1,281 3,372 Refurbished two rural schools. Guatemala (June 26-July2) 5,365 23,065 Renovated Puerto Barrios Children’s Hospital. Panama (July 4-10) 8,690 29,028 Improved Patricia Duncan Clinic. Nicaragua (July 18-25) 8,355 28,345 Renovated Julio Health Care Center. El Salvador (July 25-Aug. 1) 12,554 47,876 Renovated several work sites. Peru (Aug. 6-13) 9,360 46,441 Renovated 3 schools, built a theater stage and 10 soccer goals. Ecuador (Aug. 15-21) 12,060 51,028 Renovated 5 sites (schools & clinics). Colombia (Aug. 22-28) 6,597 27,131 Built medical facility in La Sierpe. Haiti (Sept. 1-8) 11,833 39,533 Renovated the Centre de Sante health training center. Trinidad & Tobago (Sept. 16-22) 8,744 30,560 Renovated the South East Port-of-Spain Secondary School. Guyana (Sept. 23-Oct. 1) 10,081 44,608 Renovated a school and health center. Suriname (Oct. 1-8) 3,738 15,222 Renovated Zanderij Clinic.   Mission background: On March 5, President Bush announced the deployment of USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) to U.S. Southern Command’s area of focus during a speech in Washington, D.C. (see speech transcript).   This deployment was modeled in part on last year’s USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) deployment to Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific (see more) that delivered substantial medical and dental support to a significant number of people in remote locations.  However, USNS Comfort’s deployment was planned to provide access to clinical information and treatment to support common medical needs in this region.   USNS Comfort is one of two U.S. Navy hospital ships, which is able to rapidly respond to a range of situations on short notice.  The ship is uniquely capable of providing health services support as an element of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and has been configured to provide a range of services at sea and ashore. The ship’s last major deployment was to the Gulf Coast region in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.