May 12, 2006

All hands on deck: MGHers celebrate

The atmosphere on the USNS Comfort, a US Navy hospital ship, was charged with anticipation and excitement May 6 and 7 as hundreds boarded the ship for two special celebrations. On May 6, Navy personnel, MGHers and members of Project HOPE — an organization dedicated in part to providing relief and humanitarian assistance in areas of need — gathered to honor the collaboration that enabled more than 100 MGH physicians, nurses, social workers and other employees to deliver care and comfort to victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia in December 2004 and hurricanes Katrina and Rita along the Gulf Coast in the fall of 2005.



The evening began with tours of the ship, followed by a ceremony on the helicopter pad, where John Howe, MD, president and chief executive officer of Project HOPE, and Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the MGH, presented gifts to the ship — a Project HOPE flag, a Boston Red Sox jersey signed by team members and a plaque.

"This day is a special opportunity for the MGH staff who volunteered with the Project HOPE mission to revisit the place where they made some of their finest contributions as health care professionals," said Slavin. "It also gives them the chance to share with their families the experience they had while they were away from their homes."

The following day, members of the MGH Department of Nursing boarded the ship to launch the beginning of Nurse Recognition Week with a formal cake-cutting ceremony.