That’s what the USS Kearsarge is – on this mission in particular but also for all of its missions. The medical area contains one of the largest naval hospital's, according to a Navy communications officer. “It’s an amphibious ship,” added 24-year-old Corpsman Stephen Heiss. “It’s designed to launch Marines from the ship, as well as receive the injured.” The mission of Operation Continuing Promise is different, however. The crew will be traveling to Third World countries in order to provide medical care – everything from basic prescription medicine and dental hygiene to major surgeries – that people can’t receive otherwise. The nations that the crew will visit requested the help, or the United States wouldn't be headed to their shores. Some $600,000 worth of medical supplies are on the Kearsarge. The medical staff includes general practitioners and specialists of every kind, as well as dentists and even veterinarians. The intensive care unit has 14 beds, and the general ward has many more, including space for overflow from the ICU. “We’re preparing for a full ICU, a full ward,” Heiss said. And the medical personnel will be working 16-hour shifts pretty much the whole time. They might get an occasional Sunday off. There is also an isolation ward for people with communicable diseases and for people who need psychiatric help. Preparation for the journey has included training in how to deal with children instead of Marines, the typical Kearsarge patients. “[Children] tend to react differently coming out of surgery,” Heiss said. “They are more terrified,” and personnel are trained to help them through the emotional trauma as well as the physical.
