Escorted by Colombian coast guard units, the USNS Comfort hospital ship of the United States Navy arrived at the port of Cartagena de Indias on Friday, arriving to offer medical care and training in humanitarian assistance.

The USNS Comfort docked at one of the docks of the Cartagena Port Society where she was received by local authorities who welcomed her crew members, who will carry out a humanitarian mission called Continuing Promise.

During the eight days of visiting the hospital ship, the doctors will provide care in general medicine for adults, preventive medicine, gynecology, pediatrics, orthopedics, ophthalmology, dermatology, otorhinolaryngology, dentistry and dental treatments, distribution of glasses and public health education, in addition to surgeries in the ship’s operating rooms.

The ship’s doctors expect to see an average of 1,000 people a day and perform at least 12 surgeries a day on board the Hospital Ship.

JOINT ATTENTION

Colombian medical personnel will work together with American health professionals in medical care in some parts of the city and in municipalities near Cartagena, with which they intend to strengthen medical preparation and improve combined capacities.

Additionally, veterinary assistance days, maritime and land exercises for emergency and disaster attention will be developed with the participation of military personnel from the United States, the Navy, Civil Defense and the Colombian National Army.

The Continuing Promise mission will not only benefit the Colombian vulnerable population but also migrants.

This is the seventh time that the USNS Comfort has arrived in Colombia. On two previous occasions she was in the ports of Tumaco and Buenaventura, on the Pacific Ocean, and once in the Caribbean cities of Santa Marta and Turbo.

The hospital ship will set sail on the afternoon of November 19 to continue its journey through Latin America, in which she will also visit Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

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