USNS Comfort Admits COVID-19 Patients From New Jersey

The hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) began admitting patients from hospitals in New Jersey in an effort to expand its support of the nation’s COVID-19 response efforts.

New Jersey state hospitals coordinated with Comfort doctorsto ensure patients could be effectively transferred across state lines andaboard the ship to receive care.

“Every one of those that we pull from the community or fromthe city hospitals is one more open bed for New Jersey hospitals to refill,”said Capt. Patrick Amersbach, commanding officer of the medical treatmentfacility aboard Comfort. “I’m very proud of the crew, our medical providers,nurses, support staff that are providing outstanding care to the people of NewYork City and New Jersey. We look at it as one patient at a time.”

Moored in New York, the ship serves as a referral hospitalfor critical and non-critical patients without regard to their COVID-19 status.Comfort is working with Javits New York Medical Station, federal and stateofficials as an integrated system to relieve the medical systems for both NewYork City, as well as nearby New Jersey, in support of U.S. Northern Command'sDefense Support of Civil Authorities as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comfort is a seagoing medical treatment facility thatcurrently has more than 1,200 personnel embarked for the New York missionincluding Navy medical and support staff assembled from 22 commands, as well asover civil service mariners.