DA NANG, Vietnam (Aug. 19, 2015) Lt. Melissa Parks
Summary
DA NANG, Vietnam (Aug. 19, 2015) Lt. Melissa Parks (right), a Navy occupational therapist from Pittsburgh, Pa., discusses exercises with a patient to help her regain flexibility at the Da Nang Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Hospital as part of Pacific Partnership 2015. Medical personnel from the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) participated in subject matter expert exchange with their Vietnamese counterparts at the hospital. Mercy is currently in Vietnam for its fourth mission port for PP15. Pacific Partnership is in its 10th iteration and is the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. While training for crisis conditions, Pacific Partnership missions to date have provided real world medical care to approximately 270,000 patients and veterinary services to more than 38,000 animals. Additionally, the mission has provided critical infrastructure development to host nations through more than 180 engineering projects. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Valerie Eppler/RELEASED)