The 2010 Haiti earthquake: a pathology perspective aboard the USNS Comfort.

The US Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort played an integral role in the initial phases of Operation Unified Response-Haiti following the devastating earthquake that struck near Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, on January 12, 2010. Deployed to Haiti from its home in Baltimore, Maryland, just 4 days after the earthquake, the USNS Comfort would become the region's primary tertiary casualty receiving center for 6 weeks. The pathology and laboratory department staff onboard the ship helped support the mission and experienced unique mass casualty/disaster relief scenarios while underway.