A Navy Landing Craft Air Cushioned from Assault Craft Unit 4, amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, boards the ship Jan. 22, to load up with vehicles and supplies from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to be used in the Operation Unified Response relief effort in Haiti. The landing craft allows 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit Marines to deliver heavy equipment and supplies faster and more efficiently than alternative landing craft. Cpl. Bobbie A. Curtis

From the USS Bataan Facebook page:

BATAAN-Conducted 470 pallet CONREP/ VERTREP with USNS Sacagawea; LCAC operations and flight ops iso CTF offload of 22 MEU CLB; 25 patients in medical.

Every Saturday on Bataan, the crew participates in Saturday Night Alive. SNA features musical performances, dancing, comedy and karaoke. It’s a great opportunity for the crew to gather in one location and spend time together. Tonight, we brought out a few recovering Haitian patients to watch, and some even performed. The faith and resolve we continue to witness is absolutely unbelievable. This is a lifechanger.

Earlier today: Bataan is conducting a vertical replenishment off the coast of Haiti with USNS Sacagawea. The crew is bringing on board 220 pallets of relief supplies from Project Handclasp, Operation Blessing and the American Red Cross, along with 272 Meals Ready to Eat.

GUNSTON HALL has established an unbelievable operation in Killick. They had 141 check-ins to clinic, and called in 8 medevacs for 29 patients. 5 day totals: 869 patients, 92 Medevacs carrying 347 critically injured patients. GUNSTON HALL delivered 4200 meals in Port Au Prince. Transferred 3700 boxes of food from Mexican ship Huasteca to Killick Delivered 20 cases of bottled water.

FORT MCHENRY Transported 48 Canadian sailors ashore and back at end of day for HMCS Athabaska Chaplain. 40 cleared debris from a collapsed housing site in New Mission. Conducted lillypad refueling ops for various medevac helos Supported ship-shore movement iso 22 MEU CLB offload Set up joint FT Mac/Carter Hall clinic with Doctors without Borders in Grand Goave. Medevac’d 5 critical patients plus two caretakers

CARTER HALL-Offloaded 22 MEU CLB to Grand Goave (9 MTVRs, 1 Forklift, 2 Water Trucks, various equipment, and 93 pax); Conducted VERTREP for stores; Directed all ship to shore movement as Primary Control Ship (PCS) for New Mission and Grande Goave beaches; Provided medical personnel for joint Carter Hall/FT Mac clinic established ivo Grand Goave. Departed area en route to GTMO

Medical professionals aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) treat a six-year-old Haitian boy in the casualty receiving room aboard the 1,000-bed hospital ship. The boy transferred to Comfort by helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) for treatment for an injury to his bladder and a hip fracture during an earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan 12. The boy is in the intensive care unit aboard Comfort in stable condition. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chelsea Kennedy

The USNS Comfort lived up to its name today as the medics and crew of the hospital ship continued to provide medical aid to the residents of this devastated land.

In short, it was a very busy day as the medics tended to some of the most challenging cases caused by the magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Jan. 12. By mid-afternoon today, more than 160 Haitian patients were admitted to the floating hospital.

Surgeries were performed almost around the clock. There were nine yesterday — the first day — with the last finished at 4:30 this morning. The operating room personnel began work again two hours later.

The intensive care units and wards were beginning to fill to capacity of 1,000 beds. “We have never had that number on the ship, but we can do it,” Navy Dr. (Capt.) Jim Ware, the medical group commander, said.

More medical professionals are arriving, and all are highly motivated. “We had critical care nurses show up today, and after they signed in, they put their scrubs on and went to work,” said Command Master Chief Chip Collins, the Comfort’s top enlisted sailor. “They said, ‘I can put my stuff away later. Where do you need me?’”

Two medical professionals aboard the USNS Comfort hospital ship treat a Haitian woman in the casualty receiving portion of the ship, Jan. 21, 2010, off the coast of Haiti. DoD photo by Jim Garamone

And the help is needed. On the main deck, litter bearers bring patients to the casualty receiving area after they are unloaded from helicopters on the flight deck. The elevator door opens and litter bearers come onto the red deck of the receiving area.

“Six,” says Navy Lt. Cmdr. Dan D’Aurora, who “owns” the area. D’Aurora is a nurse and a force of nature. All of the medical personnel in CASREC have their names and ranks printed on surgical tape on their shirts or scrubs. D’Aurora’s shirt has another across the back with the word, “Bulldog.”

The litter bearers bring the litter to Bay 6 where they are met by doctors, nurses and corpsmen who transfer the patient from the litter to the bed. “Get the bed the same height,” says a nurse as corpsmen crank the bed up to transfer the patient. “On three. One, two, three – lift!”

Some patients have breathing tubes and a corpsman presses a bladder to ensure air gets in the patient’s lungs. Other corpsmen and nurses hook the patient to monitors.

The doctor looks at the patient and any records. All check over the patient to ensure some injury hasn’t been overlooked. If X-rays are ordered, a technician brings a portable machine over and the lifting – or turning — process begins again.

Treatment takes many forms. One doctor performed a spinal tap on a young Haitian boy. Another read an X-ray and sent the patient immediately to the operating room. Still another looked to see that the broken leg was set correctly, then sent the patient directly to one of the wards.

Sailors who serve as translators are an integral part of the team. Most were born in Haiti and emigrated to the United States with their families. They are the conduit that doctors and nurses use to communicate with the Haitian patients.

“They have been nothing short of fantastic,” D’Aurora said. “When we were here last year for [Exercise] Continuing Promise, we did half the patients because we couldn’t communicate. We learned.”

While there are some cries of pain, the patients are pretty stoic. “Again, it helps there’s someone there who speaks their language,” D’Aurora said.

There are a number of bays in CASREC, and several times today, they were all filled. The process works quickly and smoothly and is getting smoother as the medics gain experience.

“This isn’t ‘ER,’” said Navy Dr. (Cmdr.) Tim Donahue, the chief of surgery. “People work quietly and quickly. This is real life. Not TV.”

The medics sometimes move quickly. “Running man!” yells one corpsman as a nurse comes into CASREC at a full sprint with needed equipment.

The patients come in all shapes, sizes and ages. A baby was born on the Comfort today. Both mother and daughter are doing well.

In another bay, Charlene, who is five, hugs a teddy bear she received when she got to the ship. She has a bandage on her left foot, but medics are concerned about her sight. Navy Dr. (Capt.) Terence McGee places eye drops in to dilate her pupils. She is a brave young lady as the doctor looks in her eyes. When he finishes the examination, she begins to cry so he picks her up. He asks if she has an escort – her mom or dad – and is told no.

“Five years old and alone,” he says, and continues to rock her back and forth.

DoD
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) transits off the coast of Haiti while conducting flight operations supporting relief efforts on the ground. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ryan Steinhour

The crew of the USS Bataan is adding language capabilities and medical care for earthquake victims as part of Operation Unified Response Haiti.

“We are pleased to be able to exercise our medical capability in support of those who need it in Haiti,” Navy Capt. Samuel Charles Henry-Howard, commanding officer of the USS Bataan told bloggers and journalists yesterday during a “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable.

The ship had returned Dec. 8 from a seven-month deployment to the Fifth and Sixth Fleets. “We had just finished leave … resting up from seven months of deploy[ment],” Howard said. “Late Tuesday evening, a decision was made for us to go to a 48-hour ready for sea, and by Wednesday morning we were directed to get underway 36 hours thereafter.”

Howard said his crew is prepared to stay for the foreseeable future. “We’ll be here for as long as we’re directed and happy to do so,” he said.

Along with the medical capabilities the Bataan offers, Howard said he has six French Creole speakers and nearly a dozen sailors who speak French who will assist when patients are brought aboard Bataan.

As of today, the Bataan has 22 patients aboard for medical care and is establishing a triage process ashore so they can bring aboard earthquake victims who need a certain level of care.

The patients on the ship vary in age from a newborn, whose cry was extremely gratifying to the crew, to a 70-year-old woman who is resting comfortably after being found buried under rubble, Howard said.

The ship has been augmented with 78 additional personnel for medical services. “We are currently getting them oriented and they will join the medical capacity we have shortly,” he said. “When all medical personnel arrive aboard the ship we will have a team of 117 that will be able to fully operate four operating rooms.”

Howard said the purpose of the ship is to provide aid in the best way possible.

The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit also is using the Bataan as its headquarters and is using the flight deck of the ship to support helicopter operations for a relief distribution center set up ashore.

“We are operating on flight deck 24 hours a day,” Howard said. “All during the day we are flying and accepting all comers.”

Howard said he has prepared his crew to be in Haiti until directed otherwise. “As more arms and legs are needed we have an entire crew that is excited to help.”

This is a personal mission for several crew members who are of Haitian descent, he added. They are continuing the mission in spite of losing family members and having a personal tie to Haiti.

“We are pleased to be the arms and legs of the U.S. to join in the international effort to help Haiti,” Howard said. “This is the kind of thing that makes being in the Navy extremely rewarding.”

DoD
by Christen N. McCluney
Defense Media Activity’s emerging media directorate

COMFORT is capable of providing a full hospital service asset for use by other government agencies involved in the support of relief and humanitarian operations worldwide.

Here’s a little bit about USNS Comfort, currently heading to Haiti:

The Navy hospital ship, USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), homeported in Baltimore, deployed Jan. 16 to support the relief efforts in Haiti’s capital along with USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and USS Bataan (LHD 5). A medical team of 550 Navy doctors, nurses, technicians and support staff will provide a host of medical services to include primary care, trauma care, pediatric care and orthopedic care upon arrival in Haiti. The medical team is comprised of Navy medical personnel stationed at National Navy Medical Center Bethesda and Naval Hospital Portsmouth.

The 894-foot ship has a full spectrum of hospital services to support disaster relief efforts. It has one of the largest trauma facilities in the United States and has four X-rays, one CAT scan unit, an MRI unit, a dental suite, a pharmacy and an optometry and lens laboratory. The ship also maintains up to 5,000 units of blood and can serve as many as 1,000 patients.

US Navy

As the hospital ship USNS Comfort continues its race south to Haiti, sailors aboard the vessel race to get the facilities ready for the expected patients.

The Comfort, bulling its way through stormy seas, will receive another 350 medical personnel and support staff when it reaches the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, Navy Capt. (Dr.) Jim Ware, commander of the medical treatment facility. This, he explained, will allow the staff to double the number of operating rooms.

The staff wants 11 operating rooms ready upon arrival in Port-au-Prince, expected to be Jan. 21. “We will set up all 11, but only have the people to man eight until the other personnel come in,” said Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) Tim Donahue, director of surgical services.

The commander said medical personnel have been busy scrubbing the rooms and readying supplies. Medics exercised casualty-receiving procedures this afternoon, and will continue to do so.

The Comfort set sail less than four days after receiving orders. Getting medical supplies for the mission and ensuring that the systems on the ship worked continued right up to yesterday’s departure from Baltimore.

The ship was brought to life from “a cold start,” Ware said. Contractors were aboard working on generators up to the morning of departure. Once the ship was underway, plumbers still were turning on the water in berthing spaces, and information technology specialists were working to bring the Internet up as the ship headed out of the Chesapeake Bay.

The medical effort is aided by the fact that the Comfort was in Haiti on a humanitarian services exercise in April. “We know the area, we know many of the people in the Ministry of Health, and that helps,” Donahue said. In addition, many medical specialists aided in the tsunami relief operation and for the relief effort for Hurricane Katrina.

Another help is that some aboard the Comfort are from Haiti. Petty Officer 3rd Class Yves Henry is a corpsman at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Virginia who was called up to help man the ship. “I’m proud to be in the Navy, and proud to be able to go and help,” he said.

Henry is worried about family and friends in Port-au-Prince. “I heard that my grandmother is all right,” Henry said. “I’m anxious to get there and help.”

Henry may be a translator for the medical department. Announcements went out aboard the ship for anyone who speaks Creole or Haitian French. Plans are to hire about 100 translators to assist in the medical effort.

The medical staff is preparing for crush injuries and burn cases, Donahue said. “But we have specialists and equipment here to handle just about anything,” he said.

DoD
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

COMFORT is capable of providing a full hospital service asset for use by other government agencies involved in the support of relief and humanitarian operations worldwide.

It’s pretty amazing that the USNS Comfort is able to do what it does. This ship, now going to Haiti to provide relief for a ravaged country, has a caretaker crew most of the time.

About 80 sailors and another 60 civilian mariners maintain the ship between deployments. The Comfort deploys for scheduled operations about once every two years. The ship came back from a deployment providing humanitarian aid last year.

But the earthquake in Haiti – one of the poorest countries in the world – meant that the ship had to deploy.

The ship needed a full crew. They needed to get the dining facility running and they needed to turn on the water all over the ship. And they needed to ensure there were berths for the medical detachments that poured in from around the Navy.

The scheduled deployments are planned to the nth degree. There are site visits and exchanges with the U.S. embassies and nongovernmental agencies. This deployment is just “grab it and go.”

And the medical staff and crew are doing it. Most of the medical staff comes from the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Virginia. But there are force protection sailors and corpsmen from more distant bases. The aviation detachment is from Norfolk, Va.

In many cases, this trip is the first time these sailors have met each other.

There is confusion. The first night, sailors were wandering the passageways – that’s what the Navy calls halls – looking for their bunks. Cargo handlers stacked supplies on the flight deck, knowing it was more important to get underway than it was to have everything perfectly stowed. Just learning everyone’s name took time.

But there has been amazing cooperation among the crew and the medical staff. They understand they have a mission to save lives and everything else is secondary.

That they can work together at all is a testament to their dedication. That they work together so well is a tribute to their military and professional training.

This will be a long deployment, and it will be tough. But it’s been a good beginning.

DoD
(Jim Garamone of American Forces Press Service is reporting and blogging from USNS Comfort during its humanitarian deployment to Haiti.)