European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 20, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 2 the stars and stripes saturday october 20,1990 crisis in the bpm ship ready to live up to its name by Dave Tarrant staff writer aboard the mercy in the persian Gulf a Marine staff sgt. John Mcclain is the envy of his unit. Not because he had to have his inflamed appendix removed but because he a recovering aboard the . Navy Hospital ship mercy with its air conditioned wards and Friendly nurses. A they were envious a said Mcclain 32, from Newport . A the people Here Are since the mercy arrived in the persian Gulf on sept. 15, the Mammoth White ship has treated Only about two dozen patients with minor injuries or ailments. But the ship and its Crew of 900 have been working around the clock to prepare for its wartime Mission of treating mass casualties. The 894-foot mercy the largest trauma facility in the world a afloat or ashore a appears uniquely suited to its Mission. In the event of War the floating hospitals primary task would be to stabilize the injured before they Are transported Back to the United states for further care. Patients would be brought in by helicopter or Small boat to the ship where the staff would assess their injuries. Casualties would then proceed directly to surgery or other treatment areas and eventually to one of the ships 16 wards. A a nobody can predict the kind of casualties Well see. But our main role would be a trauma Center. We expect to see medical casualties As Well As trauma casualties said capt. Paul Barry the mercy a skipper. Trauma injuries Are those caused by an external Force such As Bullet and shrapnel wounds concussions or crushing blows or Burns. The mercy a wide Range of services make it comparable to a big City University medical Center. The Hospital ship includes a twelve operating rooms and up to 1,000 Beds including four intensive care wards with 80 Beds. A a Navy staff which is 30 percent female that consists of 500 physicians dentists nurses health care administrators and medical and dental technicians. Another 400 non medical personnel handle other duties including administrative Supply and personnel services. A a Range of specialized care services such As two dental surgery rooms four dental examining rooms prosthetics testing laboratories blood Banks four Complete radiology suites a brain scanner and a pharmacy. A a we re always ready. Our duty sections run 24 hours surgical patient Sean Ashby of Oakland Calif., gets a checkup wednesday from or. Cmdr Frank Rosas. A Day. Our Alert status is keeping us prepared and ready for whatever can happen a Barry said. The mercy left its Home port of Oakland Calif., on aug 13. It works with its sister ship the Hospital ship Comfort alternating positions in the Gulf to ensure that medical surgical and dental services to . And Allied forces is available. Its staff was gathered together in less than a week mostly from military medical and dental clinics on the West coast. The staff also includes a nine member surgical team from the Canadian forces. A in Canada we done to have a Hospital ship like this so this is a Brand new experience for me a said it. Reg Hamel a nurse from the National defense medical Center in Ottawa and a member of the Canadian Navy. A a in a used to working under Canvas in Field hospitals a he said. Like . Ground based forces the ships Crew seems less concerned about the possibility of conflict than by the tedium and uncertainty of the future. A boredom is our main enemy a Barry said. A surgeons Pace the passageways looking to take out each others appendix a he joked. Meanwhile the Crew is taking very seriously the threat of chemical warfare. Extra time is spent each week on training to handle patients contaminated by poisonous Gas it. Cmdr. Alison Mueller said. The ship is using a process invented by Mueller several years ago that allows a medical team to quickly decontaminate injured service members exposed to poisonous Gas. Their goal is to decontaminate patients in less than 15 minutes. A we have a team of 40 working together and practising the last four weeks a at least twice a week Mueller said. When patients enter the ship they Are taken to one of five decontamination units where Crew members wearing protective gear Cut away contaminated clothing. Such measures Are aimed at protecting the ship As much As helping the patient she said. A the biggest no. 1 goal is not to contaminate the next the patients enter a second room where they Are washed Down with a bleach solution and a soft sponge and Brush. Air inside the room is changed six times a minute to keep it As clean As possible. From there patients Are sent on for further medical care. The ship flies the flags of both the red Cross and the red Crescent the arabic equivalent of the red Cross. A in any conflict in the Gulf we will accept All forces a Barry a recent Story incorrectly said the envy a Ron mental cleanup for the c-5 crash at Ramstein a Germany in August would Cost nearly $2 million. Soil treatment costs of $1,18 million and other clean up expenses will actually total about $1.2 million. The air Force escorted 65 Warsaw pact aircraft out of Iceland military defense identification zone airspace in 1989. Because of an editing error a recent Story stated the 65 aircraft had been intercepted in the first nine months of that year. In a recent article Navy officials incorrectly reported the Price of All grades of gasoline that will take effect in Italy on nov i. Super and unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel will Cost $45 for 100 liners. Florida confirms 3rd death from encephalitis outbreak Tallahassee Fla. A a third death was confirmed in an outbreak of St. Lumis encephalitis a Mosquito carried disease that has spread to 18 Florida counties health officials said. A 69-year-old Orange county Man who died oct. 13 was a victim of encephalitis said department of health and rehabilitative services spokesman Ernie Durfee on thursday. The Many a identity Wasny to immediately released. Tests also were performed thursday to determine whether a 91-year-old Man who died monday in Martin county was a victim of the disease but Durfee said the results were incomplete. Local health officials said the Man had suffered flu like symptoms that closely matched those of encephalitis. Three cases were confirmed thursday in Central Florida bringing to 46 the number of confirmed cases statewide. An additional 23 people have passed the first of two confirmation tests. A a we re still classifying it As an outbreak not an epidemic a Durfee said. So far the outbreak has been confined to Central and Southern Florida. In 1977, the last major outbreak 110 cases were reported and eight people died. Because encephalitis is carried by mosquitoes that prefer to bite after dark health officials have urged people to Wear Long clothing when going outside at night. Municipalities have stepped up the spraying of insecticide and outdoor activities such As prep football games have been moved to machine service to be interrupted Frankfurt Germany merchants Bank automatic Teller machines in Germany Greece and the Netherlands will be out of service monday night. The Green machine computer system will be shut Down at 10 . Monday and should be Back in service by 8 . Tuesday. The system is being upgraded a Bank spokeswoman said Friday. Green machines in the United kingdom will not be pianist Dies Mountain View Calif. A Jorge Bolet considered one of the last of the great romantic concert pianists died of heart failure at his Home. He was 75
