A U.S. navy ship equipped with the latest medical technology prepared to set sail from Singapore to tsunami-battered Indonesia on Tuesday to provide medical services to the many still in need. "A disaster of this magnitude is not static," said Captain David Llewellyn of the hospital ship Mercy. "It's ever changing." Some 40 military and civilian medical officers along with 100 nurses and other support staff are heading to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where the province of Aceh was worst hit in the December 26 earthquake-spawned tsunami. The vessel, which was converted into a hospital ship in 1986, is equipped with operating theaters, intensive care units and a 250-bed ward that can be expanded to accomodate 1,000 patients, Llewellyn said. With the U.S. military moving from immediate relief to a recovery mode, Llewellyn said, "We are seeing things that we (were) not seeing at the beginning" in terms of medical needs. Nearly 15,000 American troops have been helping in the tsunami-ravaged nations where coastal communities were swept away. "Medical care is more of an ongoing and permanent flow especially when you have this kind of disaster," said U.S. Ambassador to Singapore Frank Lavin while touring the ship. He cited population dislocation, temporary camps and destruction of initial infrastructure. "Better have medical professionals in and make sure you don't have follow-on problems," Levin added. The ship's facilities are also expected to be used by non-governmental organizations. -
