News and Policy
Distinguished visitors travel to Buenaventura to see the Comfort’s humanitarian activities
On Monday, August 27, a distinguished group of Colombian and U.S. authorities arrived in Buenaventura to visit the hospital ship USNS COMFORT and the operations carried out by its crew at the Buenaventura Coliseum. Among the visitors were General Freddy Padilla, U.S. Embassy Chargé D’Affaires Brian Nichols, and U.S. Military Colonel Kevin Saderup.
The visit to the Coliseum was guided by Commander Manny Santiago, COMFORT site leader at the Buenaventura Coliseum. During the tour of the coliseum both Padilla and Nichols expressed admiration and enthusiasm for the work being carried out by the technicians, doctor and nurses, “It’s something very important for the people of Buenaventura and for this people who never had the opportunity to receive medial treatment of this kind, said Nichols. I think this people is very happy, very pleased with the treatment. I see people who are already walking soon after a surgical procedure, and it is also a sign of fraternity between the United States and Colombia.”
According to Commander Santiago, “Today we had the honor to have the Commander of the Colombian military, General Padilla. We also had Admiral Barrera, the CMO of the Colombian Navy. They were both very pleased with the things we are doing here in Buenaventura. They like the technology that we brought here to Buenaventura. They are very impressed with the ship and the equipment. They are also very impressed with the professional knowledge that every single one of our technicians, doctors and nurses have and are providing to the people of Buenaventura.”
When talking about operation numbers, Commander Santiago explained; “We’ve got approximately 5,600 people that we’ve seen in every place we’ve visited here in Buenaventura and the region. We’ve done a total of 103 surgeries to date. This is a record when compared with some of the other countries we’ve toured, despite certain inconveniences with the weather”.
Bogotá, August 27, 2007