PORTSMOUTH -- Dozens of medical personnel will be returning to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth this weekend from duty in Haiti.
They've been working aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort, which left the Joint Task Force-Haiti area of operations on Wednesday.
The ship will arrive at Naval Station Norfolk on March 13.
During the seven weeks off Haiti, personnel treated 871 patients. At the height of the recovery effort following the January earthquake, personnel saw one patient every six to nine minutes.
Comfort's last patient left the ship on February 27.
During the initial phase of its mission, the ship ran 10 operating rooms at full capacity to care for severely injured earthquake survivors. The ships medical crew also delivered nine infants during the relief mission.
Volunteer experts from the Orthopedic Trauma Association, Project Hope, Operation Smile, United Nations Nurses, John Hopkins Emergency Medicine and other NGOs provided the ship's medical team with orthopedic trauma, surgical, nursing and anesthesia support.
"We are immensely proud of the contributions made by everyone who helped treat critically-injured survivors aboard Comfort," said U.S. Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, commander of U.S. Southern Command. "Their efforts saved the lives of many patients and helped everyone treated begin the important process of recovery. Their rapid response and contribution to the international relief efforts in Haiti helped the country overcome an urgent medical crisis at a time when access to surgical care on the ground was very limited."
Comfort, with medical personnel from various installations, left Baltimore on January 16.
