Experts: Speaking medical-ese

TRUJILLO, Honduras - Sailors with Southern Partnership Station-Expeditionary Fast Transport 17 (SPS-EPF 17) visited Dr. Salvador Paredes Hospital here July 25 to provide valuable medical treatment information to staff members. Seventeen Honduran doctors and nurses crowded a conference room with U.S. Navy medical officers to absorb potential life-saving techniques and exchange medical knowledge. Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Jonathan Auten, an emergency medicine residency director at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Va., presented training information in English, while Naval Hospital Pensacola, Fla., women’s health nurse Lt. Juliana Gutierrez interpreted the lecture into Spanish. "Lt. Gutierrez really opened up a lot of doors for us," said Auten. "My heart was pounding with excitement," said Gutierrez. SPS-EPF 17's medical team will continue to train and assist Honduran medical personnel as the mission continues. (Source: Southern Partnership Station 17 07/27/17) SPS-EPF 17 successfully completed a first-ever adaptive force package (AFP) embarkation and deployment from Gulfport, Miss., on July 18, aboard USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1) with the assistance of Seabees based in Gulfport. The ship was loaded with nearly 800,000 pounds of cargo, including construction equipment and medical supplies, to support partner capacity building and subject matter expert exchanges in Central and South America.