USNS Comfort in the news

Started by DrMetal
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I don't want to debate the specific orders and roll out of the hospital ships. I will however point out that every overrun hospital in the world right now has worse distancing and higher viral load than the Diamond Princess or any ship for that matter.

For hard hit areas having additional space/resources/manning to treat patients on or off a ship is a good thing. Concern is berthing for the crew. Are tents on shore any better for distancing? Hotel rooms? Probably. More open air. Tough call. We don't know the details for security/etc.

Everyone is in a tough situation and doing their part to fight this thing. Agree with @DrMetal point about how the crew didn't ask for this media attention. Some volunteered to go, others didn't have that option. All are serving honorably and should be applauded.
I'm going to disagree that a ship automatically can be assumed to have BETTER social distancing than every busy hospital in the country
 
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I'm going to disagree that a ship automatically can be assumed to have BETTER social distancing than every busy hospital in the country
Also, with the exclusion criteria that the Comfort requires (or required, at this point), they were not going to GET referrals from the “overrun” hospitals, because EMS was not taking low acuity patients to those overrun hospitals and was taking them to secondary ones.
 
Also, with the exclusion criteria that the Comfort requires (or required, at this point), they were not going to GET referrals from the “overrun” hospitals, because EMS was not taking low acuity patients to those overrun hospitals and was taking them to secondary ones.
EMS is also being limited as much as possible from hospital contact to prevent casualties among them. Unresponsive field codes are being called in the field and the deceased bodies being turned over to NYPD teams to avoid bringing EMS crews into the hospitals simply to deliver bodies. I suspect now that Comfort is exposed, the same rules will be applied. I have to wonder that the time required to bring a patient aboard is considerably longer than for a patient being taken even to centers in outer boroughs or adjacent cities.
 
I would prefer at tent hospital as long as the weather is nice. I remember erecting one at Bullis.
 
I've been on the Comfort. The 1000 bed capacity may not be a myth, but it is definitely a misrepresentation of true capacity. A very large chunk of those beds are essentially fold away bunk beds in a very large open area. There is zero ability to do any meaningful patient care in those areas other than maybe physical therapy.

The worst part is that you just removed hundreds of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers from land based hospitals where they can be easily repositioned to meet patient care needs, to a ship, where they're stuck. Last time the Comfort went out, MTFs allong the East coast struggled with patient volume as they were depleted of everyone from specialists to corpsmen.

As someone else said, doing land based CSHs would've made much more sense. Either that, or limit the capacity of the Comfort to just its ICU and see COVID patients, as well as possible surgical patients of medium acuity. But keeping those surgical patients from getting anything from the COVID would be difficult.

This was entirely a PR stunt, just like it was in Puerto Rico. Deploy large, expensive, assets, that make for good photo ops late in the game to make up for inaction early on.
 
You could move an entire CSH by double-stack train and the personnel by buses or air just about anywhere in the country in a couple of days. A container ship or RoRo with the trucks, trailers and all the gear in 8x8x40s is at least as fast as a hospital ship. You could assign setup to the Seabees which they can do well and where waves of requirements are anticipated, advance CB units can scout and prep sites for anticipated needs. Detroit could use this now, although I suspect some hospitals in southeast Michigan are being hit much harder than others. DMC Grace-Sinai is getting pummeled. That is a shame. (I worked there once, as a attending-fellow.)

The Navy has the capacity to do mobile hospitals without the use of hospital ships. It is really what they do best, but it looks more infantry-ish and not so blue-water, so maybe not as popular to the leadership. Deploying the ships is more about trying to maintain their visibility as a way to argue later for their relevance for funding.
 
Leaving now.

Took care of less than 200 folks.

I wonder what the final cost per patient is gonna be for that? (Like that number would ever make the news,lol)

 
Leaving now.

Took care of less than 200 folks.

I wonder what the final cost per patient is gonna be for that? (Like that number would ever make the news,lol)



It cost $162,000/day responding to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. That figure does NOT include personnel costs, just hospital ship operational costs.

For NYC: ($162K/day x 30 days) / (200 pts) = ~$25K per pt. Not including personnel costs nor adjust for 16 years inflation.
 
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It cost $162,000/day responding to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. That figure does NOT include personnel costs, just hospital ship operational costs.

($162K/day x 30 days) / (200 pts) = ~$25K per pt. Not including personnel costs.

personnel costs must dwarf the 162k/day. If you include them, it’s easily 6 figures for each patient treated. Which is INSANE.
 
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162k in 2004 is 223k adjusted for inflation.

Of course, the Army doesn’t get a pass.
They put all the activated reservists in a hotel for two weeks of quarantine before sending them anywhere.

But think of the OERs, medals and awards this will generate!!!!!!
 
162k in 2004 is 223k adjusted for inflation.

Of course, the Army doesn’t get a pass.
They put all the activated reservists in a hotel for two weeks of quarantine before sending them anywhere.

But think of the OERs, medals and awards this will generate!!!!!!

Many of us would have been happy with the points/pay since drill keeps getting cancelled.