The visit by the Comfort is in coordination with the Dominican Ministry of Defense in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and the National Health Service (SNS)
The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) will visit Dominican Republic October 16-21. The ship will dock at the San Souci port and conduct a number of surgeries onboard, as well as provide basic medical services in Centro Olimpico and Parque del Este. The visit is part of the ship’s five-month deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean on a medical assistance mission reflecting the support of the United States Government to increase regional cooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness and disaster relief in the region.
Medical teams from USN Comfort will be working alongside host nation medical professionals in providing a variety of medical services to adults and children at the medical sites, as well as basic surgical care onboard Comfort, helping to relieve pressure on national medical systems strained by an increase in cross-border migrants. Additionally, several medical professionals from partner nations will embark on Comfort to join the effort to provide medical care to patients throughout the region. The deployment reflects the United States’ enduring promise of friendship, partnership and solidarity with the Caribbean and the Americas.
Free medical services provided as part of the Enduring Promise exercise at the two designated medical sites include: Family medicine, preventive medicine, dental exams and dental treatments, optometry (eye exams), pediatrics, dermatology, women’s health and physical therapy.
The USNS COMFORT operation called Enduring Promise is part of the deepening of U.S. engagement in the region under the health pillar of the U.S.-Caribbean 2020 Strategy.
This marks the seventh hospital ship deployment to the region since 2007 and the fourth to the Dominican Republic. Comfort medical teams will also provide care in Colombia, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Ecuador, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Saint Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis during this deployment.
