Did I hear this right?

[NYETNYET]

Last night on Rachel at the end of the show, she mentioned the U.S.S. Comfort. After about 3 weeks parked off the coast of PR they finally decided to pull into the port and dock? No one noticed or mentioned a hospital ship sitting... out there. I had heard about the lack of patients on the ship. I had heard about hospitals trying to help people with very little equipment on shore. It never even, not a glimmer of a thought crossed my mind that they would sail to a disaster and sit for three weeks somewhere off shore. Whose idea was it to do that and who in the world finally figured it out. That is off the scale stupid!

[Vinca]

1. You'd have to conclude the person(s) in charge of the ship aren't the sharpest tacks.

It seems like the incompetence and ignorance of the Trump administration permeates everything.

[Mr. Ected]

2. No one could be that stupid

They must have been ordered not to move that ship ashore. Who exactly were the 9 people a day that were able to be airlifted (?) to the ship during the weeks it was anchored offshore?

This needs to be the subject of a Congressional investigation on par with Benghazi. Innocent people died because of conscious indifference, not an oversight. Yes, Trump's people are stupid, but they're also cruel. This was an overt act of cruelty, IMHO.

[Not Ruth]

3. I forget why, but there was some discussion here about a month ago about it not docking

[mercuryblues]

4. That is the norm

They have helicopters and boats to transport patients back and forth.
Usually though they handle a lot more patients. I suspect because of the poor communications and response in general is why. Whoever is leading the recovery efforts there are in over their heads.

[Clarity2]

5. I don't think

this was poor communication. I think it was at the order of a vindictive President with tiny hands.

The ship went from a handful of patients to a dock with a line of 700 patients awaiting. If we can get a man to the moon, then they certainly could have gotten a way to get people on board that ship even if they couldn't dock for some reason.

[Thor_MN]

6. There could have been limited dock capabilty

and they did have helicopters, but three weeks underutilized while people were in need is ridiculous.

I wonder if the Navy's screwups in the collisions hampered the ability to make decisions locally and do what was right. The helicopter transport was not working, better to dock as soon as space was available. Sure as hell wasn't going to be any cruise ships operating out of there.

[Not Ruth]

7. Why not just fly the patients to the mainland?

[Thor_MN]

8. Good question.

But why put them on an hours long flight with limited capabilities when there is a world class hospital right there? Between getting to the airport, fucked up security concerns, loading, taking off, landing, more fucked up security, getting them to a hospital, you are talking hours with limited care and much jostling around.

The problem was essentially with admissions, not quality of care. The ship was waiting for people to show up, but nobody knew how to get the people to the ship sitting offshore.