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USNS Comfort pediatrics staff paints murals while in transit

Posted at 8:02 AM, Nov 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-18 08:02:31-05

The pediatrics staff of the USNS Comfort, en route from Peru to Colombia, painted murals on the walls to make their workspace more patient-friendly.

Pediatrics staff hope the murals will liven up the workspace for their younger patients, who they will be treating during a stop in Turbo, Colombia.

The Comfort, which originally deployed from Hampton Roads in October, has been traveling through Central and South America to help relieve pressure on medical systems in nations like Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Honduras.

Its crew includes more than 200 U.S. and partner nation military doctors, nurses and technicians, as well as 60 medical and dental volunteers from non-governmental organizations.

During each country visit, the team expects to treat approximately 750 patients per day at each medical site. They also expect to conduct up to 20 surgeries per day aboard the ship.

During its first stop in Ecuador, the team treated more than 4,000 patients over the course of five days, and performed 81 surgeries.