7/9/09
Navy doctor undertakes humanitarian mission
By Dona Fair

USAF Airman 1st Class Ashley Garcia Photo

Navy Cmdr. Lori L. Vanscoy is one of more than 900 joint military, interagency personnel, partner nations and non-governmental organizations associated with the United Nations, taking part in the four-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission, “Continuing Promise 2009,” aboard the USNS Comfort.

When most people leave their ship at this port city on the tiny isthmus that separates the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, they are normally met by a local greeter, scenic tours and a cold tropical drink. For the daughter of a Manning couple, the scene awaiting her was much more tragic.

Navy Cmdr. Lori L. Vanscoy, daughter of William E. and Shelia K. Vanscoy of Manning, was one of more than 900 service members and other medical experts who daily met crowds of literally thousands of locals awaiting medical care during a four-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission at ports of call throughout Latin America and the Caribbean called “Continuing Promise 2009.”

Vanscoy is a pediatrician aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, where she is not only helping assist those in dire need, but also receiving valuable training from those experiences.

Continuing Promise 2009 is a partnership with Latin America and Caribbean nations who share a common interest in making the Americas stable and secure. Through professional and military exchanges and exercises, stability, peace and prosperity are preserved.

During the past couple of months, Vanscoy and her fellow shipmates have been bringing smiles to thousands of grateful local nationals throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, by putting in long hours and lots of hard work in the extreme heat, humidity and rain.

“I am working as a general pediatrician at clinic sites ashore,” said Vanscoy, who is normally assigned to the National Navy Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. “We are providing medical care to infants, children and adolescents.”

The men and women assigned to the Comfort are providing medical and dental care both on board and on shore. They are also providing engineering assistance at various sites in the host nations by doing everything from repairing school playgrounds, to renovating medical clinics. Locally, they are trekking through the jungle on foot to help a native Panamanian tribe build a dam to allow them to gather clean drinking water. Veterinarians and preventive medicine physicians are providing “roving” services around the countries, ensuring that the needs of the animal population are not forgotten.

Although Vanscoy’s job is to help others, she is in turn receiving valuable training and great experiences from participating on this mission.  

“We have seen many illnesses that have been untreated for extended periods of time, allowing us to care for disease states that we do not usually see in the United States,” said Vanscoy, who graduated in 1988 from Buckhannon-Upshur High School, French Creek, W.Va., and in 1992 from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. “We have also had the opportunity to provide education for host nation providers and nurses about pediatric advance life support and how to care for childhood asthma.”

Amongst the backdrop of picture perfect tropical paradises that the average tourist sees in the various countries that the ship visited, Vanscoy and the crew encountered a totally different type of scenery. They saw scores of people living in a type of poverty not seen even in the worst areas of the United States. Indoor plumbing and electricity were luxuries. In Panama, thatched huts were the standard for the Embera Tribe, one of seven native tribes of Panama.

“We have been to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Antigua and Panama. The most lasting impression that I have is of Haiti – the poverty there is crushing, pollution is extensive and there is almost no local access to healthcare,” said Vanscoy, who has been in the military for 13 years. “We met some amazing people there who work very hard to bring children to the United States where they can receive the surgeries that they need, but the need there is overwhelming!”

As Vanscoy and the others journey on to Columbia, Nicaragua and El Salvador before the end of this year’s mission, they will continue to bring “comfort” to those in need.