Rolling in the gentle swells of the Atlantic Ocean, 17 miles off Guyana’s coast, the United States Amphibious Assault Ship, the USS Kearsarge looks the part and in the coming weeks, its mission will be to tackle the ailments of residents of the North West District.
The large helicopters based on ship, which are capable of transporting 24 passengers at a time, will not be ferrying troops and equipment but rather patients and equipment. It is all about giving, according to the US officials.
And the enemy: chronic non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease are among the illnesses expected to be treated, but others such as HIV will also be focused on. The teams will also provide general medicine, general paediatrics, optometry, and dentistry services.
Although the idea of a warship conducting a humanitarian mission seems to present a paradox, the USS Kearsarge contains the largest medical facility afloat in the US Navy, second only to the hospital ships, USNS Comfort and Mercy. The USNS Comfort was here last year on a similar mission and the current one is dubbed ‘Continuing Promise’.
Members of the media were taken on a tour of the ship yesterday and while there were no local patients aboard the vessel at the time, one reporter was escorted to the medical bay after feeling ill.
Speaking at a briefing onboard ship, Commander Fernandez Ponds emphasized that the mission was humanitarian in nature. “This is a mission of partnership,” he stressed.
He noted that for almost a year the US Embassy here was working with the local authorities on the mission. Medical services will be offered at Santa Rosa, Port Kaituma and Mabaruma in Region One.
In Georgetown and on the West Demerara, a few construction projects to the value of US$60,000 will be undertaken. There are 1,500 personnel onboard the ship and some of them are from Canada, Brazil and the Netherlands.
Commander Ponds further stated that the mission is about the stability and security of Guyana and the rest of the region, explaining the importance of health. He stated that the ship is “uniquely suited” to the mission and stressed that the visit here is “about goodwill, nothing else”.
“We are not here to do anything other than what we have discussed with your country,” said Eric Sherck, Senior Medical Officer on the Kearsarge.
The central purpose of the ship is primarily to transport personnel and equipment, an official said. Other health-care providers such as the US Public Health Service and Project Hope are also a part of the mission. Surgeries will be done onboard the ship, which has five operating rooms, a blood bank, x-ray facility, and a full laboratory. The operations to be performed include eye surgery and hernias. From today, those needing surgery will be flown to the ship and on Thursday, the operations will start. Sherck said that a relative or close friend will be able to accompany the patient.
The Guyana leg of Continuing Promise is the final part of a six-nation tour that began on August 6. Nicaragua, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago were the nations that were visited. Haiti was not on the original list of countries to be visited, but in the wake of Hurricane Ike, the ship was diverted there to provide emergency disaster relief.
The cost of the operation is valued at US$1M per day while the total cost of the Continuing Promise mission is US$22M. The mission is expected to continue next year with the return of the USNS Comfort, Commander Ponds said. He added that this will be followed by another ship in 2010. The current mission will end on November 22, when the ship departs. (Gaulbert Sutherland)
