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Hippocrates, known as the “Father of Medicine,” once said, “As to diseases, make a habit of two things, to help, or at least, to do no harm.”
COVID-19 has forced the crew of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) to change their typical workday. In an effort to stem the spread of the disease, Sailors, shipyard employees and contractors on George Washington’s RCOH project have had to adjust hours, meetings, and schedules to minimize personal contact while maximizing the effort to get the ship to the RCOH finish line. George Washington’s medical department is fulfilling Hippocrates’ sentiments in the face of the virus.
“It’s always difficult to establish a new battle rhythm, especially while still providing the same services to the crew,” said Hospitalman John Davenport, assigned to the medical department aboard George Washington.
The services provided by the medical department maintain the readiness of the crew aboard George Washington. That medical readiness is essential to the overall health of the crew regardless of the circumstances.
“This means doing [Physical Health Assessments], audiograms, blood draws, immunizations, and a bunch more,” said Davenport.
Sailors must complete these medical requirements annually, and the medical department helps George Washington Sailors accomplish just that.
“I think the biggest challenges that we have faced during the last few weeks regarding medical readiness and trying to maintain it is that the ship, for the most part, has been operating on different schedules,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Nichole England, a leading petty officer assigned to the medical department.
The medical department has relied on two points of emphasis to overcome its new challenge.
“Teamwork and communication are the two biggest things that have been required from medical during this pandemic to maintain our readiness,” said England.
Davenport added that through trial and error and remembering that no one is doing this alone is especially essential when overcoming new challenges.
As the medical department aboard George Washington faces new challenges, they have encountered a variety of lessons learned that they can apply to the department going forward.
“Definitely the importance of situational awareness,” said Davenport. “When you look at something this widespread, you need to be on top of everything at once. There's a lot of guidelines to follow that change day-by-day. There's also a lot of paperwork to track everything, including patients you might not even see in person until they're better or off of [restriction of movement]. This reiterates something I've told some of my junior [hospital corpsmen] and something I'll continue to push: know your stuff, know your guidelines, know what to do and when to do it, and know your skills. So that when it's time to help, no one is cleaning up after you or keeping you out of the loop because they don't trust your work. Listen and take in as much as you can so you can do the most good for the most people.”
Even while a pandemic is occurring, George Washington still progresses with its mission and maintains its readiness.
“It's great,” said Davenport. “It shows how we can come together to tackle anything, even in the face of adversity. That's what separates the military from other jobs or businesses. We can't just lock the ship up or chain it to a light pole, and everyone goes home and comes back later. We're here for a reason.”
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For more news from USS George Washington, visit www. Navy.mil/local/cvn73/.
| Date Taken: | 04.13.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.31.2020 18:07 |
| Story ID: | 386324 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 126 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, George Washington Medical Department Continues Its Mission Despite COVID-19, by PO1 Trey Hutcheson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
