Caption: HM2 John Macatuno showed the media the high-speed CAT SCAN machine on the UNHS Comfort. AZP News/Alicia Chamely

By Alicia Chamely

IN 1976, no one would have believed that the newly christened oil tanker SS Rose City would one day travel the Atlantic Ocean, not filled with fuel, but with lifesaving equipment, medication and first-class trained medical personnel.

No one would have guessed the SS Rose City would be purchased by the United States Navy in 1987 and transformed into a beacon of hope, care and relief.

Docked at the Cruise Ship Complex, Port of Spain, under her new name, the USNH Comfort arrived in Trinidad on August 5 as the last stop on her Continuing Promise 2025 humanitarian mission.

Stretching a phenomenal 894 feet and towering over the dock, the media were invited to tour the USNH on Wednesday morning.

The tour was led by Lieutenant Commander George Menninger, who explained that the USNH Comfort was essentially a “floating hospital.”

Menninger explained the Comfort was one of two Mercy Class boats in the US Naval fleet that were deployed for medical relief to combat, natural disaster and humanitarian relief missions.

Over its lifespan, the Comfort had been deployed to provide medical relief during the Persian Gulf War, the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Manhattan, New York, the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haitian Earthquake response, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and as part of New York Covid-19 response.

Leading the media through a series of hallways, Menninger’s first stop on the tour was the dental and optometry clinics, which he said were both extremely popular on humanitarian missions. He noted that one one-third of the equipment on the Comfort was that of the dental clinic.

The media were then led to the Causality Receiving Area, which Menninger said served as an emergency room.

He said, “We have plenty of patient bays, which include monitoring, oxygen and basically every capability that you could think of in an ER. That’s what we have here.”

The Comfort was also equipped with a high-speed CAT Scan machine and full radiology clinic.

HM2 John Macatuno, one of the two radiology technicians aboard, explained that should a patient at the medical clinic being held at the National Academy of Performing Arts, Port of Spain need a scan they will be brought upon the ship and receive a CAT Scan within 15 to 20 minutes.

Beyond basic medical services, the Comfort had 11 Operating Theatres (OR) and one interventional radiology suite. HM1 Anthony Hale said each OR had the capability to carry out complex surgeries including laparoscopic procedures.

He said on this mission most surgeries carried out were hernia repairs, breast reduction, colonoscopies, burn surgeries, paediatric surgeries and scar revisions.

Hale said per day they had an average of 12 to 16 patients.

There were four Intensive Care Units aboard the Comfort, with the ability to hold over 80 patients. There was also enough ward space to hold up to 800 patients.

The ship was also equipped with a full medical laboratory that can deliver complex blood test results in as little as 20 minutes.

Additionally, the Comfort has a fully stocked pharmaceutical department that provides all patients full courses of top-quality medications and treatments as prescribed by the ship’s medical team.

On the top deck of the Comfort sits a helicopter, which was used to transfer patients from medical sites to the hospital in emergency situations and for search and rescue operations.

The Comfort was currently on its Operation Continuing Promise humanitarian mission. Medical personnel were carrying out free services at the NAPA from August 7 to 9, from 8 am to 4 pm on a first-come, first-served basis.