The Mercy Mission: March - May 1987
The following God Story occurred in the wake of the "Praying People Power Revolution" in the Philippines. To show solidarity with the new s, the US decided to deploy the new hospital ship USNS Mercy for a shakedown cruise from March through May 1987. God orchestrated thevoyage from start to finish, using ACCTS staff member serving at the Joint US Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG) to coordinate the mission.
USNS Mercy and her sister ship USNS Comfort were tankers built in the late 70s. The Navy bought them, removed the tanks and associated plumbing, and dropped specially fabricated hospital modules into the empty spaces. The ships boasted an 80 bed-emergency room, 12 Operating Rooms, and at 1000 beds apiece, were the largest trauma centers in the world.
Prayerful planning by a multi-service team of medical, operations, and logistics experts began in October 1986. The Philippine Islands are primarily mountain peaks
that extend above the surface, so the water deepens rapidly as the distance from land increases. For a ship nearly 900 feet long, that required ports that offered water shallow enough to anchor, but far enough offshore so that the she wouldn't ground as she swung at anchor. Operational requirements were then correlated with the Filipino medical infrastructure and prospective patient pools to establish potential ports of call. Inpatient procedures were limited to those with a high probability of completion within a week to avoid the appearance of "cutting and running." (Operating on a patient and then leaving the post-operative care to the local medical facilities) This involved extensive screening and coordination with local medical staffs to develop patient assessments, and match patient needs with the ship's medical staff and unique capabilities.
Following the Revolution, there had been a broad resurgence of national pride, and the hardest part of the Mercy mission was convincing parochial medical officials that they would benefit from the project. After combing the Armed Forces of the Philippine (AFP) to find the right officers to sell the proposal, the mission coordinator located two Christian mid-level officers who had recently attended Military Schools in the US and agreed to take the lead. After three months of planning, it was determined that the ship could make 7 stops of about ten days duration at Subic Bay, Leqazpi, Davao, Zamboanga, Puerto Princessa, Cebu, and Calbayog.
Although Mercy was a Navy asset, the medical staff comprised specialists from all military services to reflect the Concept of Operations for wartime use. Inpatient cases were treated aboard ship, and a Medical Dental Civic Action Program (MEDCAP) outpatient clinic was set up at each location for the duration of the visit.
USNS Mercy treated over 62,300 outpatients, and performed nearly 900 inpatient procedures. That's about 1,500 patients per day, and when one takes into account the extended family of each patient, as well as those who received "Operation Handclasp" materials (over 300 tons worth), it's estimated that Mercy touched more than 1,500,000 Filipinos, 15% of the population.
Here are some snapshots of medical procedures accomplished during the mission:
- Hundreds of patients with pterygium and cataracts had their sight restored by Mercy's ophthalmic surgery department. (Pterygium occurs when exposure to sand and sun cause a fleshy growth over the cornea, eventually obstructing vision.)
- The Philippines has an unusually high incidence of cleft palate and hair lip, both of which relegate the patient to being an outcast. Corrective surgery is relatively straightforward, and heals the patient both medically and spiritually. Mercy surgeons performed dozens of these procedures.
- In the Provinces, most families depend on fires, oil lamps, or candles for light. Many children are burned every year, and because of poor medical care, the scars are both disfiguring and disabling as the scar tissue often limits range of motion. Numerous scar revisions were performed, enhancing the quality of life for these young patients.
- One teenage girl had lost an eye, and the empty socket made her a social outcast. One of Mercy's dental technicians fashioned an artificial eye for her, bringing a joyful smile to her formerly sad face.
- Each MEDCAP included a dental clinic, and more than 17,500 dental patients were treated during 185,000 procedures, including 142,000 infected tooth extractions, and 4,600 restorations.
- MEDCAP staffs of more than 200 went ashore each day to work 12-hour shifts in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. They provided 6,000 immunizations, and conducted 24,000 lab procedures. At each stop, the Preventive Medicine Department helped local officials test water and food supplies, and sprayed for insects.
- The ship's medical staff included 65 AFP personnel, and local medical staffs were invited to scrub in for procedures performed aboard the ship. In the evenings, Mercy medical staff provided over 1,000 classroom hours on various medical issues, and distributed more than 50,000 handouts, including a set of basic medical texts. Over 9000 Filipino doctors, dentists, nurses, technicians and medical volunteers benefitted from this training.
At the end of Mercy's $20,000,000 mission, President Aquino presented the ship's crew with the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for their magnificent work. Mercy then returned to her homeport of Oakland, where she remains in Reduced Operating Status (ROS) near her supporting hospital with a small cadre of MSC mariners, Navy medical administration personnel, and Navy support staff, awaiting her next mission.
God had demonstrated His own "Mercy" in relieving suffering and bringing both physical and spiritual healing to thousands of Filipinos. Praise His holy name!
