“It’s a source of pride to represent the Dominican Republic and the United States in this humanitarian mission Continuing Promise,” said U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class Randol Corporan Arias, a physical therapist and member of the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort crew, as he saw patients at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center in Santo Domingo, onDecember 6, 2022.
One of his patients was Pablo Canales Flores, 39, to whom he explained how to do exercises to improve the pain in his legs. Canales, very attentive, followed his instructions. “This mission is excellent. There are many people who cannot go to the doctor because they do not have medical insurance and are of very limited resources; others cannot buy the medicine or follow the indicated treatment,” said Canales.
This is the sixth visit of the USNS Comfort to the Dominican Republic. The ship is deployed as part of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. Fourth Fleet’s Continuing Promise (CP) 2022, a humanitarian assistance and goodwill mission to bring direct medical care, expeditionary veterinary care, and subject matter expert exchanges to Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras and with Haiti as its final stop.
Anny Altagracia de los Santos, 49, waited her turn to be seen in the orthopedic area. “They [Comfort staff] always come to help us. I have a broken toe on my left foot, and they have already fitted me with this orthopedic boot, and they are going to give me some crutches to walk; I am beyond grateful.”
Adalgisa Ramos Acosta, 55, was finishing her ophthalmology consultation and showed off her new glasses. “I was seeing very blurry. I have surfer’s eye, I have gone through several surgeries and although in this case they did not recommend me to go through the operating room again, they explained my condition very well,” said Ramos, expressing her satisfaction for the excellent care. “I saw so many children and adults benefitting and people with disabilities, who have so many needs, that it is truly a great incentive and a great blessing for them that the ship is here.”
Canales, Altagracia, and Ramos are among the more than 4,435 Dominicans who benefited from the USNS Comfort’s nine-day visit, which offered general medicine, pediatrics, optometry, and dentistry care at the Olympic Center and the Sports Center of Azua, in the southern province of Azua de Compostela. On board the ship, the medical team carried out 87 surgeries, including ophthalmology, orthopedics, maxillofacial surgery, reconstructive plastic surgery, and general surgery.
In addition to offering health services, the Comfort team conducted exchanges with Dominican military personnel and professionals from various medical and veterinary specialties; seminars on Women, Peace, and Security; emergency drills, workshops on the prevention of gender violence; concerts; and cultural and sports activities. In total, CP impacted almost 13,000 people.
For example, at the Dr. Francisco Moscoso General Hospital, medical staff participated in refresher events in areas such as burn patient care and assisted breathing, among others.
“We are doing an exchange with the personnel of the USNS Comfort ship on knowledge in the medical area, with the experience they have, the way they work with patients and at the same time, we share ours,” said Rosalina Ozuna, nurse in charge of continuing education.
Dominican children also exchanged experiences. Isaury María Rodríguez, principal of the Gregorio Luperon Elementary School, commented that the students were very motivated by the visit of the USNS Comfort personnel, who read in some classrooms and in others shared their experiences about their lives at sea and played with them.
Music was also present with the songs of U.S. Navy Fleet Forces Band, which performed at the Dominican American Cultural Institute and the Mauricio Báez Cultural Center, as well as exchanges with students from the National Conservatory of Music, the National System of Free Schools, and the Mauricio Báez Cultural Center.
Meanwhile, U.S. Navy Petty Officer Third Class Rafael Fernandez, medical assistant, checked that everything was in order in the waiting room aboard the USNS Comfort as he awaited the arrival of new patients who had previously been selected by the Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, and who were transferred on a boat to the huge floating hospital.
“It is truly an honor to help as a real team. We are not just the United States; we are a promise and we are all in it together. For me especially, it’s a pleasure that I can care for my fellow Dominicans,” he said.
