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Pinoy Abroad

US Mercy ship to extend medical, even veterinary services to Samar


United States Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. said a US Navy hospital ship -- the USNS Mercy -- has extended medical, dental, and even veterinary services to Samar, Philippines as part of its humanitarian tour to four Asian nations. During the "Kapihan sa Embahada" with journalists on Thursday, Thomas said it was "wonderful to see the treatment they give" with the help of the Philippine military and non-government organizations. Thomas noted that it was the "25th anniversary of the Mercy," which began serving as a hospital ship of the US Navy on November 8, 1986. "We also have Japanese ship, and representatives of nine nations who are providing treatment to the less fortunate," he said. He said the Philippines is the second stop of the Mercy ship in its four-nation tour. He also praised the local community for supporting the Mercy mission, saying only "a couple of Philippine doctors were supposed to show up but it turned out that 20 Filipino doctors showed up. It showed the commitment of the Philippine medical community also to help the less fortunate." A report of the news site Samar News said the enlistment of patients for the hospital ship USNS Mercy is  from June 18 to 24. Samar News said the medical consultations and free check-ups for some 400 patients a day will be held from June 25 to 30. The Mercy ship was built in 1976 by the California-based National Steel and Shipbuilding Company as an oil tanker. The company converted it into a hospital ship in 1984, two years before it was acquired by the US Navy. As a hospital ship, USNS Mercy does not carry firearms and attacking it is considered as a war crime. According to the website of the USNS Mercy, the features of the ship include:

  • three to four operating rooms;
  • one emergency operating room;
  • four intensive care unit beds;
  • an isolation ward;
  • 62 ward beds, and
  • 22 hotel beds.
The services it provides include:
  • casuality reception,
  • radiological services,
  • laboratory services
  • medical supply/pharmacy,
  • phyiscal therapy and burn care,
  • dental serivces,
  • optometry/lens lab,
  • morgue, and
  • oxygen producing plants.
The primary mission of the USNS Mercy is to provide mobile acute medical and surgical services to the Marine Corps, Army, Air Force and naval amphibious task forces. However, it also provides mobile surgical hospital services for civic assistance, disaster, or humanitarian relief. Another US ship Meanwhile, another US ship also paid a visit to the Philippines in March this year -- the USS Blue Ridge, said to be the "finest flagship" of the US. One of the ship's ranking officials, Lt. Junior Grade Clinton Beaird, Public Affairs Officer, said Filipino Senior Chief Petty Officer Ed Agustin was "the best sailor that we have on board." The USS Blue Ridge is the US Navy's most technologically advanced ship. It is the permanent flagship of the navy's Seventh Fleet. During Operations "Desert Storm" and "Desert Shield" in the 1990s, the USS Blue Ridge served as the flagship for the Commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command. Beaird said Agustin, 47, was one of the 76 Filipinos serving on the USS Blue Ridge. The Filipinos represent about 12 percent of the ship's nearly 1,000 crew members. - AM, GMA News
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