Humanitarian Mission of the US Hospital will benefit thousands of people in the region

The ‘Comfort’ hospital ship, from the United States Navy, will visit six countries in the Caribbean and Latin America for almost three months to provide medical services to economically disadvantaged communities.

With around one thousand professionals on board, this mission, called ‘Promise continues 2025’, will also seek to solidify international ties and ensure regional security, as Martí News, Natalia Molano, spokesperson in Spanish of the United States Department of State.

«Military interoperability among medical professionals from these countries to visit, and the ‘Comfort’ ship staff will help the United States defense. In a moment of emergency or crisis, there will already be a joint work history,» Molano said, emphasizing that it is of vital importance for the US to work with the military personnel of other nations in international help work.

The countries that will be visited during this mission are: Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Granada, Ecuador and Panama, nations in which you will work hand in hand with local specialists to provide specialized medical care to people who lack social security.

For Dr. Cristian Guarderas, an expert in cardiology and frigate captain of the Ecuadorian Navy, the work to be done during this journey will mark an important precedent in the current economic context of thousands of people.

«I think we will attend between 200 and 300 people daily, reaching the most vulnerable places in these countries and generating important changes in poor resource patients.»

The specialists indicated that in this mission there will be various medical surgeries, including facial and dental reconstructions, repairs of the leporino lip, plastic surgeries for accidents or burns, ophthalmic operations and pediatric treatments. Veterinary services will also be provided for homeless animals.

«We have twelve operations rooms, one of the world’s largest blood banks, four intensive care rooms conditioned with special oxygen towers, and specialists in many medical areas. Each of our missions changes the lives of thousands of people,» said Fernando Pérez Carvajal, coach of the United States Navy.

A Cuban specialist aboard the Comfort

Within the personnel who will travel during the mission -Promesa continues -is the specialist in preventive medicine, Anisy Betancourt Marrero, who has the responsibility of examining the water used and consumed, ensuring the health of the health of the hospital ship.

Betancourt Marrero, of Cuban Father, indicated that he would like to see the moment when a similar mission reached the coast of Cuba, to help so many people suffering from deficiencies.

«I would really love to happen. I see my grandfather, who lives in Cuba, cry a lot, and my cousins ​​and uncles that are suffering too much. I would like this ship on some mission to help Cuba,» said the expert.

Regional Medical Collaboration

Once the Comfort arrives at each of the countries to visit during their continuous promise mission 2025, the medical staff of each nation will have the opportunity to go up to the hospital ship and work together with the US specialists in the various clinical procedures.

Since 2007, the continuous promise medical staff has attended more than 601,000 patients and carried out more than 7,300 surgeries, positively impacting more people in the region than any other deployment of the US Navy in history, said the Southern Command.

Until now, this mission has attended 21 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America region, highlighting the work done during the Haiti earthquake in 2010.