Hospital ship to bring more smiles to residents of Subic community (UPDATED)

The floating hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) is set to arrive in Subic Bay Freeport on August 4 to undertake a cleft-lip and palate surgical mission as part of Pacific Partnership 2015 (PP15), the largest annual multi-lateral humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

According to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the surgical mission will be done aboard the USNS Mercy and will be sponsored by Operation Smile and the Kapampangan Development Foundation (KDF) in cooperation with Rotary International District 3790.

The Pacific Partnership 2015 also provides real-world medical care to thousands of patients, veterinary services, and critical infrastructure development to host nations through multiple engineering projects.

In line with this, the SBMA Office of the Deputy Administrator for Public Health will be facilitating the screening of potential patients who require cleft-lip and palate surgery.

The screening will be held at the Subic Gym on August 5, from 7:00 a.m. onwards.

Potential patients should weigh at least 10 kilograms, not undernourished, and free from colds, cough, or fever at the time of the screening, the SBMA ODA for Public Health said.

Interested parties may call or text Mr. Raul Peralta at 0917-888-4545, or the Office of the Deputy Administrator for Public Health and Safety at (047)252-4924/4307.

The USNS Mercy will arrive in Subic Bay from Roxas City on August 5 to continue is humanitarian mission in the Philippines. It will dock at the Alava Wharf here.

The ship’s crew will also conduct Fundamentals of Disaster Management Course on August 5 at the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital and Basic Life Support Training with personnel from the Philippine Heart Center on August 6 at the Harbor Terminal, Subic Bay.

The USNS Mercy crew will be in Subic Bay until August 12 for the continuing Pacific Partnership expert-exchange events and community relations projects while the ship undergoes routine maintenance at the Subic port.

Now in its tenth year, the Pacific Partnership missions have provided medical care to approximately 270,000 patients and veterinary services to more than 38,000 animals.

Additionally, the mission has provided critical infrastructure developments to host nations through the completion of more than 180 engineering projects. (RFD/MPD-SBMA)