Photos: About the USNS Mercy, the Navy's Floating Hospital Deployed to the Port of LA
By Jonathan Lloyd ••
The Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy arrived in the Port of Los Angeles to provide relief as the region’s hospitals grapple with the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Mercy, which set sail from San Diego, is serving as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients. Treating those patients aboard the giant ship will allow shore-based hospitals to use their Intensive Care Units and ventilators for COVID-19 patients.
At full capacity, the behemoth ship will be the largest hospital in Los Angeles.
USNS Mercy, which usually handles combat casualty care, is one of the Navy's two 1,000-bed floating hospitals that will deploy to provide medical relief. More than 800 medical professionals will be on board when it docks at the Port of LA.
The current USNS Mercy is the third Navy ship to carry the name, signifying compassion. The first was built as Saratoga in 1907 and served as a Army troop transport during World War I. It was renamed Mercy and converted to a hospital ship. Commissioned in January 1918, the first Mercy completed four round trips to France and carried nearly 2,000 casualties. The second Mercy was commissioned in August 1944.
The current nearly 900-foot long ship was delivered to the US Navy in November 1986. It was deployed for service in Operation Desert Shield in August 1990.
Originally built as the oil tanker USS Worth, the converted hospital ship has 11 general purpose operating suites, blood bank capacity of 5,000 units, 15 patients wards and 80 intensive care beds. The hospital ships also have a CT scanner and radiology suites.
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Aerial view of the Hospital ship USNS Mercy docked at Naval Base San Diego on March 20, 2020 in San Diego, California. California (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
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Sarah Burford-U.S. Navy via Getty Images
The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) takes on supplies, March 20, 2020, at Naval Base San Diego. (Photo by Sarah Burford-U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
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Sarah Burford-U.S. Navy via Getty Images
The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) takes on supplies, March 20, 2020, at Naval Base San Diego. (Photo by Sarah Burford-U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
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Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Mike Jones - U.S. Navy via Getty Images
Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Ashlee McCasland, Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Jonathan Shaw and Senior Chief Master-at-Arms Lou Canton prepare pallets of supplies to be loaded aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) at Naval Base San Diego, March 21, 2020. (Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Mike Jones – U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
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Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Mike Jones - U.S. Navy via Getty Images
Steve King, a Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest forklift driver, prepares to deliver pallets during a supply load aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) at Naval Base San Diego, March 21, 2020. (Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Mike Jones – U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
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Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Mike Jones - U.S. Navy via Getty Images
Steve King, a Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest forklift driver, prepares to deliver pallets during a supply load aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) at Naval Base San Diego, March 21, 2020. (Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Mike Jones – U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
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Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David Mora Jr.
Rear Adm. Timothy Weber, commander of Naval Medical Forces Pacific, speaks to members of the press before the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) departs Naval Base San Diego, March 23, 2020. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David Mora Jr./Released)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 27: USNS Mercy arrived in the Port of Los Angeles, United States on March 27, 2020 at 8:40 A.M. Her mission is to provide relief for Southern California hospitals should they be overrun with coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. The men and women serving on the ship will remain onboard during the duration of this deployment. No one is allowed on or off the ship except for patients transferred for care. (Photo by Neal Waters/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 27: USNS Mercy arrived in the Port of Los Angeles, United States on March 27, 2020 at 8:40 A.M. Her mission is to provide relief for Southern California hospitals should they be overrun with coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. The men and women serving on the ship will remain onboard during the duration of this deployment. No one is allowed on or off the ship except for patients transferred for care. (Photo by Neal Waters/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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SAN PEDRO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 27: A woman watches from shore as the USNS Mercy Navy hospital ship arrives in the Port of Los Angeles to assist with the coronavirus pandemic on March 27, 2020 in San Pedro, California. The ship holds 1,000 beds which will be used to treat non-coronavirus patients in an effort to free up hospital beds for those suffering from COVID-19. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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The US Navy hospital ship Mercy arrives March 27, 2020 at the Port of Los Angeles to help local hospitals amid the growing coronavirus crisis, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
