Hospital Ship Replacement

Abstract

Abstract : The Center for Innovation in Ship Design (CISD) requested the development of a concept that could serve as a replacement for the existing hospital ships. The U.S. Navy plays a significant role in humanitarian missions by providing immediate aid during disaster situations. The existing hospital ships, USNS Mercy (T-AHS 19) and USNS Comfort (T-AHS 20) carry out two missions: (1) to provide medical and surgical care in support of U.S. amphibious task forces, and (2) to serve as a full-service hospital for use by various government agencies involved in support of non-combat roles such as disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. These hospital ships are over 35 years old and will need to be replaced once they are at the end of their service life. Other shortcomings include excessive draft, seakeeping at zero knots, low-speed maneuverability and inadequate patient throughput. The Navy Bureau of Medicine has stressed the need for modular medical facilities and amphibious support to enable increased ship-to-shore patient transfer and extend medical capabilities ashore.