Thousands of Grenadians served by USNS Comfort medical services

by Linda Straker

• USNS Comfort berthed in Grenada from 15-20 September
• Enduring Promise served over 4,500 Grenadians, including 75 surgeries aboard ship
• Crew repaired oxygen plant at the General Hospital

More than 4,500 Grenadians were provided with medical services from the medical staff of the US Naval Hospital Ship Comfort which is on a humanitarian medical mission in the region. USNS Comfort berthed in Grenada from 15-20 September 2019.

US Southern Command Military Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Michael Plehn announced that the USNS Comfort’s mission Enduring Promise had served more than 4,500 Grenadians, including 75 surgeries onboard the ship.

During the closing ceremony on Friday, he said, “The Comfort is one of the many ways the US Southern Command is strengthening its partnership with Grenada. From humanitarian missions like Comfort to multinational disaster preparedness and response exercises like exercise Tradewinds, we’re working together to build a more resilient neighbourhood.”

Plehn announced a new contribution from the United States to Grenada’s disaster preparedness and response capacity. “The US Government and the US Southern Command are investing in the construction of two new emergency operation centres and disaster response warehouses in Carriacou and Morne Jaloux,” he said, explaining that the investment was part of the United States’ enduring promise to realise the potential of the region together.

Health Minister, Nickolas Steele, thanked the Comfort crew and medical personnel for their sacrifice in making this mission a reality. “We are most grateful for this endeavour,” he said. “This is what it’s about – working together and finding the benefits of the relationship between Grenada and the United States.”

He assured the Comfort crew that just as the latitude and longitude of Grenada would remain the same for a return journey, so too would the hospitality of the spice isle. “There’s still much to be done through continued partnerships like this,” he said.

Besides providing the medical services, the crew held a session with the livestock and veterinary division in the Ministry of Agriculture and repaired the oxygen plant at the General Hospital. The USNS Comfort departs Grenada on Saturday, 21 September for St Lucia followed by a visit to St Kitts and Nevis.