GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – A medical team from the Royal Netherlands Navy, stationed aboard the Dutch ship HNMLS Holland (P840), visited U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, early October, to tour the facility and assess its capabilities for potential emergency medical support.
The delegation was welcomed by the hospital staff who provided a tour of the medical and emergency department facilities. The visit highlighted the hospital's readiness to support allied forces in need.
“The hospital is characterized as a ‘Role 2-plus’ facility which means we can provide advanced trauma management, perform emergency surgery, resuscitative care, stabilize patients and manage post-operative care,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Edinson Rosales, the Operational Forces Medical Liaison for the hospital. “This is a greater capability than most ships operating within the area have and is essential in supporting distributed maritime operations.”
The Holland, an offshore patrol vessel used for drug interdiction and anti-piracy operations in the West Indies, has Role 1 medical care capability. Role 1 is defined within the military health system as the ability to provide medical treatment, initial trauma care, and forward resuscitation, not including surgical care. In the event the ship has a need for greater care, it can contact the hospital.
“Next to primary care, the nurse and doctor on board the ship are able to do damage control resuscitation and life-saving interventions for severely wounded or ill patients. However, when a patient needs specialty care, such as surgery or ICU care, we need to transport patients to a hospital,” said Royal Netherlands Navy Lt. Jan-Peter Schaap, the medical doctor aboard the Holland.
“Whenever we get the chance, we like to see the hospitals in the ports that we are visiting. This way we get to know the facilities and the people within the hospital and therefore the medical possibilities,” said Schaap. “We are also responsible for providing medical care to the U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement personnel on board, so it is nice to have a U.S. Naval hospital to contact when we have questions regarding U.S. personnel.”
The hospital’s capabilities and contact information is shared within the port visit documents of the Dutch Navy and is used throughout their fleet.
“This visit underscores the importance of military-to-military support and cooperation,” said hospital Director for Administration, Lt. Cmdr. Jermaine Johnson. “Our ability to work seamlessly with our allies ensures that we can provide critical medical care during emergencies, enhancing our collective mission readiness.”
Military-to-military support strengthens alliances, fosters mutual trust, and enhances operational effectiveness. The visit provided an opportunity for both teams to exchange knowledge and expertise, further solidifying the partnership between the U.S. and Dutch naval forces.
“This collaboration is essential for ensuring that we can provide the best possible care to all service members, regardless of nationality and aligns with Navy Medicine’s global health engagements and the strategic goals of the Navy,” said Johnson.
As global challenges continue to evolve, U.S. Navy leadership emphasizes the importance of robust military alliances and support systems.
“Our hospital is in a remote part of the Caribbean where there isn’t a lot of support. The Naval station is strategic for maritime domain and the hospital is an important aspect of that strategy,” said Rosales.
Force readiness is a priority to ensure warfighters are staying in the fight. Whether this fight is for drug interdiction, migrant operations, humanitarian assistance, or disaster relief, by providing expeditionary medical support we are maintaining a ready force,” said Rosales. “In this case, it’s for a NATO partner who wants to ensure the health, safety, and readiness of their force, and have identified us as way to close a healthcare gap by relying on joint capabilities.”
U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay is a community-based facility providing health care to the Naval Station Guantanamo Bay community that consists of approximately 5,000 military, federal employees, U.S. and foreign national contractors and their families. The hospital also operates the only overseas military home health care facility providing care to elderly Special Category Residents who sought asylum on the installation during the Cuban Revolution.
Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian health care professionals – provides enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore.