Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Eshleman | 200409-N-EV253-1253 NEW YORK CITY (April 9, 2020) - U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Stephanie Benn,...... read more read more
Subscribe
The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrived in New York City on March 30 supporting state and local health officials in response to the nation’s COVID-19 outbreak.
The purpose of the mission is to take patients in an effort to relieve pressure from the hospitals that are near capacity.
The crew of Comfort is made up of Sailors from around the fleet and civil service mariners from Military Sealift Command with unique capabilities to provide urgent medical support services.
“When patients come in on the ambulance we determine whether they have been tested for COVID-19,” said Lt. j.g. Stephanie Benn, from St. Ignace, Mich. “If they have no COVID tests on record when they arrive, we test them for COVID-19 and that determines where we place them for care on the ship.”
Benn is a nurse in the Navy Reserves who was activated to embark on the Comfort for this mission.
Based on the recent change to the ship’s mission to now accept patients regardless of their COVID status, Comfort has reconfigured the ship’s maximum capacity from one thousand to five hundred beds. This adjustment is to ensure the hospital can separate COVID-19 positive from COVID-19 negative patients.
“We have the same staff and capabilities as a field hospital on shore,” said Capt. Patrick Amersbach, commanding officer of the Comfort’s Military Treatment Facility. “However, the environment aboard a ship is not the same and we have special considerations that must be accounted for when considering each patient. Still we have not let this slow us down.”
The ship is equipped with features such as four radiology suites, CT scanner, operating rooms, pharmacy and two oxygen-producing plants.
“USNS Comfort arrived in New York City ahead of schedule,” said Capt. Joseph O’Brien, mission commander, Task Force New York City. “We will continue to refine our patient intake process so that we can provide maximum support to the city, and we are taking every precaution to minimize our risk while still accomplishing the mission.”
“I feel quite honored and humbled to be here and do my part to combat this virus because I feel, as a nurse, that this is our frontline experience with the war on this virus,” said Benn. “The support from the community and how we were received here in New York City and from the patients who are just so thankful for the care is amazing.”
Comfort cares for trauma, emergency and urgent care patients without regard for their COVID-19 status. Comfort is working with the Javits New York Medical Station as an integrated system to relieve the New York City medical system, in support of the U.S. Northern Command’s Defense Support of Civil Authorities as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Date Taken: | 04.12.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.12.2020 18:55 |
| Story ID: | 367200 |
| Location: | NEW YORK, NY, US |
| Hometown: | ST. IGNACE, MI, US |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, St. Ignace, Mich. Native Supports COVID-19 Response in NYC, by PO1 Scott Bigley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT