USNS Comfort Provides Continuing Promise 2009

Department of Defense Photo Essay

  • Hundreds wait in line for medical care in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort was offshore to provide medical care as part of Continuing Promise 2009, during a four-month, seven-country humanitarian mission. The scene was carnival-like with a local disc jockey playing music and vendors selling water, soda and slices of watermelon. Patients not seen the first day slept in the street that night to be first in line the next day. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A Nicaraguan girl with a homemade bandage on her injured leg waits in line to be seen during a medical clinic conducted by the crew of the USNS Comfort in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. She was among hundreds of patients examined and treated by USNS Comfort medical professionals. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • Nicaraguan volunteers screen a boy who is in line to see healthcare providers from the USNS Comfort during a medical site visit to Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. The U.S. Navy hospital ship was offshore to provide medical care as part of Continuing Promise 2009, a four-month, seven-country humanitarian mission. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A red band is placed on the wrist of a small child waiting in line to be screened by medical doctors and nurses from the USNS Comfort in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. The bands signify that the patients that may be admitted into the clinic for examination. The crew of the USNS Comfort treated nearly 20,000 patients in Nicaragua. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A small boy waits in line to see a doctor during a medical clinic conducted by healthcare providers from the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort inChinandega, Nicaragua July 11, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Adrianna Ortner helps direct the traffic at a medical site in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. Hundreds of locals showed up in hopes of being seen by healthcare providers from the USNS Comfort that stopped in the country on the final leg of Continuing Promise 2009, a four-month, seven-country humanitarian mission to Central and South America. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Navy Cdr. Matt Herzberg, a dentist sailing with the USNS Comfort, numbs a patients gums before pulling a tooth at a medical site in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. During the four-month, seven-country humanitarian mission, Comforts physicians, dentists, nurses, optometrists and staff saw more than 100,000 patients. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Loh, a dentist sailing with the USNS Comfort, listens as a translator describes a patient's tooth complaints during at a medical site in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Air Force Capt. Amber Heller, right, pulls the tooth of a patient aboard the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort, off the coast of Corinto, Nicaragua, July 12, 2009. Assisting is dental student Daniel Cabrera. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • Dr. Jonathan Diaz, a dentist from the Dominican Republic working with the crew of the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort, gives a Nicaraguan girl a dental check-up at a medical site in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. The USNS Comfort is on the final leg of its four-month, seven-country humanitarian mission. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Navy Cmdr. John Fortunato, a pediatric gastroenterologist assigned to the USNS Comfort, examines a Nicaraguan girl during a medical site visit in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. Alongside Fortunato is U.S. Southern Command intern Rachel Libby, right, and medical student volunteer Michael Fein, center. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • An elderly woman waits to be seen by healthcare providers from the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort at Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. The ship saw nearly 20,000 patients in the country, the last stop of Continuing Promise 2009, a four-month, seven-country humanitarian mission to Central and South America. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A mother and son wait for their chance to see a doctor during a medical clinic run by the crew of the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. The USNS Comfort was moored offshore to provide medical care as part of Continuing Promise 2009, during a four-month, seven-country humanitarian mission. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Southern Command intern Rachel Libby listens as a Nicaraguan woman describes the symptoms her child is suffering from during a medical visit by healthcare providers from the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort to Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • Twin girls wait to be seen by a pediatrician during a medical visit by healthcare providers from the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort to Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A Nicaraguan boy tells an interpreter where his stomach hurts while a pediatrician from the USNS Comfort performs an examination during a clinic in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jenny McSherry fills prescriptions during a medical clinic conducted by fellow crewmembers of the USNS Comfort in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. Most patients were given pain relievers and vitamins, and given instructions to drink more water, eat better foods and brush their teeth regularly. More than 135,000 prescriptions were filled during the USNS Comfort's four-month Continuing Promise 2009 mission. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • An interpreter delivers prescription instructions to a Nicaraguan mother during a medical clinic conducted by the crew of the USNS Comfort, moored off Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A Nicaraguan girl waits as her prescription is filled during a medical visit to Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • Nicaraguans wait their turn for an eye exam from an optometrist during a medical clinic conducted by he crew of the USNS Comfort to Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. The clinic was the first opportunity for many to ever be seen by an optomestrict; many received reading glasses. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Navy Lt. Joseph Osmond talks in Spanish to a mother as her son sports a new pair of glasses given to him during a medical visit by healthcare providers from the USNS Comfort to Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Air Force Maj. Brian Foutch examines a child's eyes during a medical visit by healthcare providers from the USNS Comfort in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. In the foreground, boxes of reading glasses to be distributed are separated by prescription. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Navy Lt. Joseph Osmond, an optometrist assigned to the USNS Comfort, examines a young girl's eyes during a medical clinic in Chinandega, Nicaragua, July 11, 2009. Optometrists from the ship examined the eyes of more than 66,000 patients during the four-month, seven-country humanitarian mission dubbed Continuing Promise 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • Nicaraguans are tested for tuberculosis before being admitted onto the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort for care as the ship moored off the coast of Corinto, Nicaragua, July 10, 2009. Most patients are tested for tuberculossis before being allowed to board the ship. Once on board, patients are quarantined until the test results show they are free of the disease. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Kylee Thompson pats Beyker Maldonado as they walk through the casualty receiving section aboard the USNS Comfort, July 10, 2009. Maldonado turned two years old on the ship as he waited for eye surgery. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A small boy awaiting surgery plays in a waiting room for children aboard the USNS Comfort off the coast of Corinto, Nicaragua July 10, 2009. The Navy hospital ship finished Continuing Promise 2009, its four-month, seven-country humanitarian mission to Central and South American last week. Surgeons aboard the ship conducted more than 1,600 operations during the mission. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • Nicaraguans rest in a hotel the night before their scheduled surgeries aboard the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort, off the coast of Corinto, Nicaragua, July 10, 2009. Most of the surgeries, for conditions such as hernias and eyesight correction, would be considered routine by U.S. health standards, but are too expensive in Nicaragua where healthcare for the poor is limited. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Kathleen Weber updates names on the roster keeping account of who is staying aboard the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort, off the coast of Corinto, Nicaragua, July 10, 2009. The USNS Comfort is on the final leg of its four-month, seven-country humanitarian mission. Patients were flown from shore to the ship by helicopter along with an escort. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • Surgical staff perform an operation aboard the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort during a stop off the coast of Corinto, Nicaragua, July 12, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • Surgeons aboard the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort prepare to separate the skin that fuses together the two middle fingers of 17-year-old Juan Carlos Manzanares of Leon, Nicaragua, July 12, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A surgeon operates aboard the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort during a stop off the coast of Corinto, Nicaragua, July 12, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • Surgeons aboard the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort prepare to separate the skin that fuses together the two middle fingers of 17-year-old Juan Carlos Manzanares of Leon, Nicaragua, July 12, 2009. Doctors performed the operation on both of Manzanares's hands. Surgeons aboard the Navy hospital ship conducted more than 1,600 operations aboard the floating surgical ward during a four-month, seven-country humanitarian mission dubbed Continuing Promise 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III