Hospital ship welcomes medical volunteers from NAS Jacksonville
Elizabeth Jones
Monday, February 08, 2010, 11:01:03 PM
In an effort to increase the effectiveness of the military's Haitian relief effort, a group of medical volunteers consisting of 28 doctors and nurses recently departed from NAS Jacksonville to spend three weeks aboard a hospital ship currently based in Port Au Prince.
The group, which works through the nonprofit organization Project HOPE, will assist in improving the patient capacity of the 1,100 bed ship, administering aid to local people and training the military personnel to meet the demands of disaster care.
"We've got 28 of the best doctors, nurses and technicians from all over America," said Project HOPE spokesperson Fred Gerber in a statement to the Jax Air News. "The key to this operation is to get the injured on board, treat them and then send them out to a field hospital on land for further treatment so we can keep treating others. Nine nations have set up field hospitals in Haiti and other organizations are also providing medical care."
Gerber predicts that the group will be performing a lot of orthopedic surgeries due to the large number of injuries resulting in amputations. The groups presence will allow many soldiers to return to their previous engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, claims the news provider.
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