USNS Mercy, USNS Comfort Receiving Patients

“The number of patients sent to the Navy hospital ships is driven by demand for the local hospitals”

USNS Mercy, USNS Comfort Receiving Patients in LA, New York City

April 2 2020

https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2134688/usns-mercy-usns-comfort-receiving-patients-in-la-new-york-city/

To free overwhelmed local hospitals focusing on patients with COVID-19, the Navy hospital ships USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort are docked on both U.S. coasts to provide medical and surgical care to non-COVID-19 patients.

The USNS Mercy is in Los Angeles under the command of Navy Capt. John R. Rotruck, and the USNS Comfort is in New York City with Navy Capt. Patrick Amersbach in charge.

Both captains briefed reporters at the Pentagon by telephone today.

Since onboard medical personnel are not treating patients with COVID-19, referring hospitals are screening and testing patients for the virus before they're transferred to the Mercy or the Comfort.

So far, the Mercy has treated 15 Los Angeles-area patients, and the Comfort admitted its first three patients late yesterday, the captains said. Each ship has a 1,000-bed capacity and is well equipped for meeting the medical and surgical needs in their assigned communities.

"We are honestly looking forward to seeing a significant increase in patients being transferred to the Comfort today," Amersbach said.

To transfer patients between facilities, hospitals in Los Angeles call in to a centralized countywide medical alert center that coordinates the move. The Mercy is now part of that system providing patient care, Rotruck said.

The number of patients sent to the Navy hospital ships is driven by demand for the local hospitals based on their current capacity, the Mercy's captain explained, adding that the floating hospitals are supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the lead agency, as well as state authorities.

On the East Coast, the Comfort taps into a central communications and referral system coordinated through the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. The center has local health officials working with FEMA to ensure hospital transfers take place smoothly and that patients transferring to the Comfort are COVID-19-free and "suitable for that environment," Amersbach said.

The Mercy has accommodated patients recovering from traumatic accidents and those suffering from gastrointestinal, heart and lung problems. "[We're seeing] pretty much the gamut of patients that you'd expect to see in a community hospital," Rotruck said.

"Professionals aboard USNS Mercy left Naval Base San Diego March 23, after receiving a five-day notice of deployment," the captain said. "Although we have never responded to a pandemic, this is the type of mission that we train for, as our ship is uniquely outfitted for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," he added.

The Mercy staff came together as a team quickly, Rotruck said. "We are accomplishing our mission and showing the power of Navy medicine in support of the American people," he added. "And we will stay here until it is decided that our support seems no longer necessary. We are honored to answer the call in the time of need and are committed to protecting the health of our force and the health of our nation."

"The hope is that our presence [will help] local hospitals focus on treatment of COVID-19 patients, … and we are grateful to serve the needs of our nation," Amersbach, the Comfort's captain, said.

The goal of the Defense Department's senior leadership was to get the capability and capacity of the Mercy and the Comfort in place before local hospitals were overwhelmed, Rotruck said. That way, the ships' medical teams are able to establish local relationships and ensure the processes for transferring patients to their facilities are meeting the needs of each location.

"When the capacity demand really increases, we'll be ready," he said.

250-Patient Army Field Hospital in Seattle

POTUS and DoD > > Winning the War

250-Patient Army Field Hospital in Seattle Expected to Open Next Week

April 2 2020

https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2134773/250-patient-army-field-hospital-in-seattle-expected-to-open-next-week/

The Army is assembling a 250-bed field hospital at the CenturyLink Event Center in Seattle that’s meant to treat non-COVID-19 patients so area hospitals will be able to free up their own beds to care for those who have contracted the coronavirus disease, the commander of the 627th Hospital Center said.

"We have an important mission," Army Col. Hope Williamson-Younce said during a telephone news conference with reporters at the Pentagon today. "We are expeditionary, we're agile, and we're responsive. We have medical doctors, nurses and support staff from all over the world — they mobilized in a moment's notice to support the American people."

The field hospital, Williamson-Younce said, will relieve some of the burden on local hospitals, allowing them "freedom of maneuver" to better take care of patients who have COVID-19. "That is the best place for those patients to be — inside the fixed facility in a controlled environment," she said.

The field hospital involves about 500 military medical personnel from multiple units, including the 627th Hospital Center's 10th Field Hospital; the 62nd Medical Brigade; the 47th Combat Area Support Hospital; and the 520th Area Support Medical Company.

Army Lt. Col. Jason Hughes, commander of the 10th Field Hospital, said his unit will be providing 148 beds to the facility, including 48 intensive care unit beds. The 10th Field Hospital also includes an emergency room, operating suites, a lab, a microbiology unit, blood banking capability, X-ray capability and services for mental and spiritual health. He described it as "a one-stop shop for your mind, body and soul."

"These soldiers are excited to be here and do their mission," Hughes said. "That's why they signed up: to serve the nation, raise their right hand and come and serve the American people, whether that's abroad or, in this case, at home."

The field hospital is still being set up, and the expectation is that by next week it will be ready to take on patients, Hughes said.

While some of the 500 personnel assigned to the field hospital are busy constructing the facility, others are working closely with local officials to develop plans for determining what patients will come to the hospital and how they will get there, he said.

“While we're building this hospital, we have the clinical teams integrated and discussing with the Department of Health here at Washington state and the local medical community to make sure that we do this the right way and the patients that come here get the care they deserve without compromising this facility,” he added.

Because the field hospital is to receive only non-COVID-19 patients, Williamson-Younce said, patients will be screened at both the referring hospitals and then again at the field hospital to ensure they are not afflicted with COVID-19.

(continued)

>>8669326

250-Patient Army Field Hospital in Seattle Expected to Open Next Week (continued)

Another challenge at the field hospital is providing for civilian patients the kind of experience they would get in a civilian hospital — which is understandably different from the kind of care service members would expect in a wartime environment.

"When we go to war, we set up on a field and we set up in tents," Hughes said. "We construct a tent city, and we have beds that are close, near to each other. So [there are] privacy concerns that we have for civilian patients. We're constructing barriers in between the beds that we wouldn't normally have in a field setting."

Hughes also said they are keeping in mind concerns about noise, such as that from power and oxygen generation systems, while setting up the hospital. While that kind of noise might be common around a field hospital at a forward operating base, he said, it would be unusual for civilians. The team is working to ensure civilians treated in the field hospital have "an experience commensurate with what they'd have in a local hospital," he said.

Hughes said that while it's likely that patients will begin arriving early next week, the numbers of patients coming to the field hospital is not yet known.

"Whether the hospitals offload patients to us immediately, that remains to be seen," he said. "But we'll be ready, whether they come or not. We'll see what the local network can handle. But we'll be ready to go early next week."

>>8669342

Remember how people used to joke about overstepping government authority.

"Heil Reichsmarschall Governor [of state].

Ja, I am the local authority.

Now, let me see your papers."

>>8669499

Aussie Anons are truely Awesome!

(and many tv programs are more entertaining than hollyweird)