Mercy, Mercy Me!

13Aug08

From time to time we break from agenda and get to take a side excursion to look at something cool that affects our community. On May 9 the Fellows were invited to tour the US Navy’s Mercy before she began her journey as part of the Pacific Partnership bringing aid to underdeveloped countries in the Pacific region. Our group was comprised of current and alumni Fellows, so it was neat to mix and mingle with folks who’d been through the program already.

PCF Mercy Tour Group - Yep, that's the ship behind us!

We met at the gate and were escorted in vans to the ship which was docked in Pearl Harbor. It was ENORMOUS! You can’t miss this huge white ship with the big red cross on the side – but I guess that’s what you get with a floating hospital. It truly was an exciting facility with full medical capabilities for surgery, testing and emergency care.

The tour started in the Ward Room with a briefing by Captain W.A. Kearns, Commodore and Captain James P. Rice, Mercy Medical Treatment Facility Commander about the mission, what it means for the places it will visit and how important it is to the US military and diplomatic relations.

Then we walked up to the bridge to see the controls and take a peek out the window at Pearl Harbor. You could see the Battleship Missouri Memorial and Arizona Memorial off the starboard (right) side. It was amazing to see it from that angle.

The Battleship Missouri and Arizona Memorials off the starboard side from the bridge.

One of our tour guides was taking pictures of Flat Stanley for her niece’s class project as we journeyed around. I managed to capture one shot of her in action. I figure that kid’s project will be pretty darn cool with the journey ahead!

Afterwards we took a stroll on the deck and I got a clearer shot of the Missouri and the Arizona. Then we headed into the ship and toured all of the medical facilities. They have a full emergency room that has about 50 beds (if my memory serves me right)!

We saw their MRI scanner and took a tour of one of the operating rooms, which was super cool. They put them in the dead center of the ship to make them move as little as possible for surgeries. Still, all of the equipment is tethered down in case of high seas. Can you imagine going in for a complex surgery on a rocking ship? I give those doctors and nurses so much credit for keeping it going in tough conditions! Here are some more pictures to show you what we saw on the tour…

Mercy's Bridge with Flat Stanley at the controls and a few helpers who have worked on several missions.

A view of the Battleship Missouri Memorial and the Arizona Memorial from the deck of the USN Mercy.

One of our guides shows off the 50 bed emergency/intake/trauma area on the USN Mercy. It's huge!

Here's more of the trauma area. Cool, huh?

Yes, that's a fully functional MRI scanner on the ship! How awesome that they have capability in arms reach to treat those in need.

I was excited to see they had their own way of handling recycling. Pretty tall brown bags, huh?

Not the best shot of this poor guide with his eyes closed, but I loved the hanging monkey on the bunk next to his head! He was explaining the sick bay modifications needed to create a children's ward with the comforts of home.

Speaking of the kid's area... Here's the playroom filled with toys, games and materials donated by the wonderful people of San Diego to aid the ship on its mission.

And thar she blows off the port (left) side of the harbor! Such a monster ship with an incredible impact on people's lives.

Needless to say, but this was a very cool look at an awesome part of the US Military! If I get really good, I’ll post some of the pictures and/or PowerPoint updates we’ve been receiving that document the progress of the ship’s work along the way.

Filed under: PCF, Uncategorized   |  1 Comment
Tags: Arizona Memorial, Battleship Missouri Memorial, Flat Stanley, Hawaii, Mercy, Navy, Operation Smile, Pacific Century Fellows, Pacific Partnership, PCF