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BETHESDA, Md., July 6, 2015 – “Even in the middle of the ocean,
the ‘spirit of jointness' is alive,” Army Capt. Rory Walton wrote
from the high seas of the Caribbean.
The operating room nurse
assigned to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is one of
43 Walter Reed staffers aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort,
deployed for the Continuing Promise 2015 humanitarian mission to
Central America, the Caribbean and South America.
The mission
is a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored and U.S. Naval Forces Southern
Command/U.S. 4th Fleet-conducted deployment focused on
civil-military operations. It includes providing medical, dental,
veterinary and engineering support, along with disaster response
preparation, to partner nations.
Walton joined the ship April
1, 2015 in Norfolk, Virginia, for a six-month deployment. She called
it a “unique opportunity” to continue developing Walter Reed's
interoperability with sailors, airmen and Public Health Service
members.
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Operating room nurse Army Capt. Rory Walton, left, and nurse anesthetist Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Rolfes prepare to move a Salvadoran patient after surgery aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort in Acajutla, El Salvador, during Continuing Promise, June 18, 2015. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Derek Paumen)
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Sharing Best Practices and Ideas
“Having the opportunity to work together with our friends and
partners in this mission setting allows for the sharing of best
practices and ideas,” she said. “It further enables all of us to
build partner capacity and promote collaboration [and] partnerships
in order to meet challenges together and prepare for future
missions, contingencies and response efforts.”
In addition to Walton and other
nurses, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center also deployed a
general surgeon, a pediatric surgeon, a plastic surgeon and several
surgical residents, along with corpsmen to support the mission. An
obstetrician-gynecologist who also is part of the group assisted
many women on the Comfort's stop in Jamaica.
Navy Capt. (Dr.)
Christine Sears, commander of the USNS Comfort Medical Treatment
Facility, often works in tandem with the Comfort's operating room
staff for complex pelvic surgery cases. Sears has an extensive
background of service with Walter Reed National Military Medical
Center, having completed a fellowship and served as a staff
urologist and as executive assistant to Navy Rear Adm. (Dr.) Alton
L. Stocks, who commanded the medical center.
“Women's health
continues to be very important to all of the host nations that we
are visiting during our CP-15 mission,” Walton said. “Our
gynecological surgery team has been inundated with patients at all
of our completed mission stops.”
More Stops Remain
The Comfort medical team performed
surgery in Belize, Guatemala, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Panama, Walton
said. After completing work at the sixth mission stop in El
Salvador, she added, five mission stops still remain: Columbia,
Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Honduras.
“As a team, we begin each country the same,” Walton
explained. “We stage our surgical supplies and pre-plan each mission
stop. Because surgery uses a significant amount of resources and
consumable supplies, this is no small feat. Upon entry to the
country, we immediately set up a surgical screening site in
coordination with each country's ministry of health.”
The
Comfort arrives to crowds of potential patients, said Walton, who
specializes in open-heart surgery. Over the next two days, she said,
the team screens and books up to 100 patients for surgery.
“Because certain health conditions and comorbidities can disqualify
someone for surgery, it is important we maintain a high standard to
ensure the safety of those in our care,” she said. “We work together
with the host nation, Ministry of Health representatives and medical
professionals to educate and support one another to ensure our
efforts run in tandem with their needs.”
Hypertension and
proper management of diabetes are common issues the Comfort team
addresses with the host nation and health partners, Walton said.
“When caring for patients, we continue to be compassionate, yet
sensible, when addressing their health concerns in order to deliver
the highest quality of care standard,” she added.
Some Cases Have Huge Meaning
Walton said there have been cases and patients she feels
especially excited about helping during the deployment.
“Any care where you have substantially changed
someone's quality of life has huge meaning,” she said. “We've been
able to resolve blindness, restore walking and upper body use,
reduce chronic pain, and treat life-threatening injuries.”
The nurse spoke of a unique honor not often afforded to those who
work in the operating room.
“Our patients often remember our
faces,” Walton said. “It is a joy. Our patients stay in the ship's
intensive care unit and recovery wards for a few days after surgery.
[We] often see them about the ship, or in a passageway. It is very
meaningful to directly see the impact you have on their lives.
“Since you witness both their diagnosis and the living
conditions they come from, you have a vivid picture of what they
face,” she continued. “We rarely have the opportunity to watch a
patient's full recovery in the days after their operation. It is
rewarding to witness that full spectrum, from diagnosis to
rehabilitation and discharge.”
Deployment Continues Until October
The USNS Comfort is
scheduled to complete its six-month humanitarian mission in October.
Officials anticipate the hospital ship serving more than 130,000
patients during Continuing Promise 2015.
As one of the largest trauma facilities in the
United States, the Comfort has a full spectrum of surgical and
medical services including four X-ray machines, a CAT scan unit, a
dental suite, an optometry and lens laboratory, a physical therapy
center, a pharmacy, an invasive angiography suite and two
oxygen-producing plants. The hospital ship also maintains up to
5,000 units of blood. Patients arrive aboard primarily by helicopter
and sometimes by small boat and are then assessed for medical
treatment in casualty receiving and routed to surgery or other
services depending on their medical condition.
By Sharon Renee Taylor
Walter Reed National
Military Medical Center
DOD News / Defense Media Activity
Copyright 2015
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