World’s Largest Hospital Ship Prepares to Aid Typhoon Yolanda Victims

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DAILY KICKER NEWS 2

POSTED IN: FEATURED, PHILIPPINE NEWS, PHILIPPINES, WORLD, WORLD NEWS

The US military has activated the Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy, the world’s largest hospital ship [ 272.5 m (894 ft) long, 32.2 m (105 ft 8 in) across, and a full load displacement of 62,922 tonnes] according to the Guinness World Records, filling it up with supplies such as food, equipment, and medical supplies for possible deployment to the Philippines to aid areas ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda.  Currently docked at Pier 1 at the Naval Base San Diego, the ship normally has a standby status but once activated, operations swiftly commenced to load the ship with the necessary supplies.

According to the logistics director with Military Sealift Command, Cmdr. Louis Costa, they had to transform the ship from its standby status to a fully operational Echelon III Medical Treatment Facility in 5 days or less, calling the task an “Olympic sprint”.  The official deploy order has not been issued yet but is expected any moment soon.

Once deployed, the slow-moving hospital ship may take 3 weeks before reaching the Philippines, especially if it stops first at Hawaii for more equipment and personnel.  The Navy’s Pacific Fleet announced that the converted oil tanker will reach the country sometime in December.

Other US Ships Aid the Philippines

If deployed, the USNS Mercy will join other US ships, with the Navy’s Pacific Fleet confirming the arrival of destroyers USNS Mustin and USS Lassen off the country.  Amphibious ships USS Ashland and USS Germantown are set to arrive within the week while cruisers USS Antietam and USS Cowpens with USS George Washington aircraft carrier are set to arrive anytime soon.

Currently, there are around 300 U.S. military personnel on the ground but the number is expected to increase to more than a thousand within the week.

USNS Mercy (T-AH-19)

The current USNS Mercy set to deploy to the Philippines is actually the third hospital ship bearing the same name as its predecessors operated by the US Navy.  Built in 1976 by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, as the oil tanker SS Worth, the ship was converted into a hospital ship in July 1984.  These Mercy class hospital ships are the second largest ships in the Navy but do not carry offensive weapons in accordance with the Geneva Convention however, firing on the USNS Mercy is a war crime and the ship is equipped with defensive weapons only.

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Commissioned on November 8, 1986, the ship was launched in July 20, 1985, as USNS Mercy with the primary mission of providing medical and surgical services to military personnel.  Its secondary mission is to provide humanitarian aid and relief.

The hospital ship has the following features:

• Patient Capacity:
  • Operating Rooms: 12
  • Total Patient Capacity: 1000 beds
  • Limited care wards: 500 beds
  • Light care wards: 120 beds
  • Intermediate care wards: 280 beds
  • Recovery wards: 20 beds
  • Intensive care wards: 80 beds

• Departments and Facilities:
  • Casualty reception
  • Optometry/lens lab
  • Dental services
  • Intensive Care Unit
  • Physical therapy and burn care
  • Medical supply/pharmacy
  • Central sterile receiving
  • Main laboratory plus satellite lab
  • Radiological services including CT
  • 2 Oxygen producing plants
  • Laundry
  • Morgue

Deployments and Accomplishments

• Aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan 2013.  Mercy is set to deploy to the Philippines to aid the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.
• Pacific Partnership 2012.  Mercy departed San Diego on May 3, 2012 to visit Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia, helping build the capacity of these nations to “respond to regional disasters in a coordinated manner”.  This mission also includes construction projects, veterinary care, and Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) with host nations.
• Pacific Partnership 2010.  On February 24, 2010, Mercy began its journey to Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Timor Leste for recurring humanitarian mission, performing 1,580 surgeries and treating 109,754 patients.
• Pacific Partnership 2008.  On April 14, 2008, Mercy departed San Diego for a 4-month humanitarian and civic deployment in Southeast Asia and Oceania, performing 1,369 surgeries and treating 91,000 patients.
• Pacific Partnership 2006.  In its inaugural deployment for the Pacific Partnership, Mercy visited the Philippines, Indonesia, Banda Aceh, and other ports in the South Pacific Ocean.
• Operation Unified Assistance.  Mercy departed San Diego on January 5, 2005 to provide aid in the tsunami-devastated regions of South East Asia, providing 108,000 patient services.
• Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm.  Mercy was activated on August 9, 1990 to support Operation Desert Shield, performing almost 300 surgeries and treating 690 patients from multinational allied forces.
• Philippine Training Mission.  On February 27, 1987, Mercy went on a humanitarian cruise to the Philippines and the South Pacific while training en route, treating almost 1,000 inpatients and over 62,000 outpatients.