Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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Medical Department The Medical Department aboard USS Lexing- ton, in addition to its routine responsibility of caring for the health needs of the ship s own per- sonnel, must continually be on the alert for acci- dents and emergencies In case of hurricane, flood or other natural catastrophe there may be a call for Lexington to get underway and pro- of Mexico or the Caribbean The carrier may also be summoned to the assistance of a ship in trouble or a pilot downed at sea A crash on her own flight deck by an aviator during his car- rier qualifications is, of course, always a possi- bility A All these things can happen, and when they do it will be the doctors and corpsmen aboard, re- Medical men are on the Job at all times-not just when there is an injured or sick shipmate to be cared for Preventive medicine in the form of mass immunizations and careful inspections of the ship s living quarters and food preparation areas help to avoid threatened epidemics aboard Many of the ship s personnel are treated daily specialized clinic or a surgical operation is indi- cated while in port, these men are sent to the nearest naval hospital, if the ship is operating close enough to shore, air evacuation is used When the ship is underway, however, the fact that qualified doctors and corpsmen aboard can perform major medical work is truly reassuring for all hands 7 . . n 7 vide medical disaster relief anywhere in the Gulf at sick call on an out-patient basis. Whenever a sponding as skilled professionals to meet the challenge. Fortunately, safety programs keep emergencies and accidents to a minimum. Medical duties aboard are sometimes less than glamorous. CVS-16's officers and crew are treated daily for minor cuts, bruises and burns or seen for colds, headaches and belly aches. More serious accidents and diseases, of course, are bound to occur among an active body of men the size of this carrierls complement, no mat- ter how much is done to prevent it. The Medical Department has excellent facilities at its disposal, including a sickbay comparable to a 63-bed hospital, a modern surgical oper- ating room, a pharmacy, a laboratory and a 100 milliamp X-Ray machine. A fully-equipped eye, ear, nose and throat room is available for specialized treatment of this nature. The men of the Medical Department require and receive intensive training. The ship's pro- gram calls for each man to rotate within the De- partment in order to learn something about all medical duties. Thus if the vessel is faced with an emergency situation which might ordinarily overwhelm a small group of specialists, CVS-16 is ready. Lexington's Medz'cal Department han- dles the day-in and day-out health needs of shzp's company personnel and any other personnel aboard Although space is at a premium, the facilities areamong the most modern z'n the world and are staykd by hzghbz skilled projhssionals.