The USS Bataan’s Medical Capabilities – DoD Roundtable

The Department of Defense (DoDLive) Bloggers Roundtable met with Cmdr. Melanie Merrick, USS Bataan Senior Medical Officer, Cmdr. William Wallace, Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 8 Officer-in-Charge and Lt. Cmdr. Seon Jones, FST 8 Surgeon to discuss the Bataan’s medical capabilities off the coast of Haiti!

Cmdr Merrick said in an opening statement that it is an honor to provide medical services to the Haitians. The military medical community is responding and more assets continue to arrive. The Bataan arrived in the Port-au-Prince harbor yesterday and began ship to shore operations. Its medical team is providing care for assigned military and expecting augmentation today for its four operating rooms, 14 ICU and 38 ward beds. The 87 augmentees will provide 24 hour coverage for the medical facilities on board.

The USNS Comfort will arrive tomorrow morning with 1,000 beds and 600 medical personnel bringing the total medical for the US military in the area to 1,500.

For the latest reports on DoD efforts in Haiti please go to the following MilitaryAvenue Article: Index of the US Military Response (chronologically listed).

Photo Credit: 01/18/2010 – Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a CNN medical correspondent and practicing neurosurgeon, and U.S. Navy surgeon Lt. Cmdr. Kathryn Berndt perform surgery on a 12-year-old Haitian girl with a severe head injury aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) Jan. 18, 2010, while off the coast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The sugeons removed a piece of concrete from the child’s brain after the girl was injured during an earthquake. Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing 17 are conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations as part of Operation Unified Relief after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti Jan. 12, 2010. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael C. Barton/Released)byColonel KonTuesday, January 19, 2010Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to PinterestMilitary Life:Col K,DoD Roundtable,Haiti