Q COSTARICA — A joint effort between the CCSS, the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica, and the USNS Comfort team provided prompt and timely care to more than 1,500 people, helping to reduce waiting lists in the region and demonstrating the impact of international cooperation on the health of the Costa Rican population.
The care was provided both on land and aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort, a hospital ship operated by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command, currently deployed to Latin America and the Caribbean, providing medical and surgical care to personnel deployed in war or other operations, as well as humanitarian and disaster relief support
The goal was to provide care to patients on the waiting list at the Tony Facio Hospital in Limón. For five days, nearly 1,000 military and civilian personnel worked alongside CCSS medical personnel to offer health services at the province’s port terminal.
The ship’s capacity and equipment provided general consultations, ophthalmologic and general surgeries, eye exams with the provision of lenses, dental treatments, veterinary care, and preventive medicine programs were provided. In addition, the ship’s technology made it possible to obtain radiology results in just 10 seconds, streamlining patient diagnosis and treatment.
According to Dr. Pablo Rodríguez, chief physician for the CCSS, approximately 400 people were treated daily at the medical center located at the Japdeva cruise terminal, while approximately 12 surgeries were performed on the ship each day.
Among the procedures performed were cataract surgery, hernia repair in minors, and the removal of lipomas and scars.
The mission provided general, pediatric, plastic, reconstructive, and ophthalmologic surgery services, as well as care in optometry, orthopedics, otorhinolaryngology, and other specialties.
Patients were also given free medications.
“It is a joy to see patients free of discomfort. This mission represents a great opportunity for the people of Limón to receive care and benefit from medical work,” said Rodríguez.
The USNS Comfort, retrofitted in 1987 and equipped with 100 stretchers, a CT scanner, a dental office, an optometry laboratory, and two oxygen production plants, is a critical resource in emergencies, natural disasters, and humanitarian missions around the world.
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