title: Dermatology aboard the USNS COMFORT: Disaster relief operations in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.
abstract: On the 12th of January 2010, Haiti was struck by a 7.0 Richter magnitude earthquake that devastated its already fragile capital region. Approximately 230,000 people died immediately or during ensuing weeks, mostly due to acute trauma. Countless others suffered significant life- or limb-threatening injuries. As a part of the United States' response to this tragedy, eventually named Operation Unified Response, the United States Navy deployed hundreds of physicians and other medical response individuals on a hospital ship. Operation Unified Response was a military joint task force operation augmented by governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Its mission was to bring medical and logistical support to the region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20889, USA. kenneth.galeckas@med.navy.mil
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Galeckas
mesh_terms: D003880:Dermatology; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D006205:Haiti; D006801:Humans; D009326:Naval Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012066:Relief Work; D012767:Ships; D014481:United States