Programs

Programs covers the Hospital, Operating Rooms, and Medical Capacity Building projects.

The Hospital provides free surgical treatment that reduces the backlog of surgical need in the host-country, directly saving lives, reducing disability and increasing social and economic inclusion for our patients. 

We provide surgery in the following specialties:  maxillofacial, head and neck,  general, orthopedic, reconstructive plastics, pediatrics, ophthalmic, pediatric, and women’s health.

When patients will not benefit from surgery on board, due to a terminal illness, they may be referred to the Palliative Care team for ongoing support through the end of life process.

The Hospital comprises of wards and operating rooms, and includes support services such as a medical laboratory, radiology, biomedical services, pharmacy, rehabilitation, as well as the preoperative and outpatient services. The Hospital also supports the Hospital Outpatient Extension (HOPE) Center, where the patients who have travelled from outside of the port city where the ship is located can stay between appointments.

Mercy Ships believes in transformational development, especially in the healthcare systems of our host countries. The vision of Medical Capacity Building is to support and strengthen the surgical health system from grassroots to government in the most impactful way, a vision that will be carried out by providing high quality medical training programs and quality improvement initiatives which include courses and mentoring in the areas of anesthesia,  mentoring of health professionals, surgical nursing – ward and OR, biomedical, sterile processing, palliative pare, clubfoot and nutritional agriculture (Food for Life).

Mercy Ships defines healthcare education as “the impartation of knowledge, skills, and a professional attitude in individuals to affect transformational development in Mercy Ships target region.”  The three types of Mercy Ships Healthcare Education projects are mentoring, courses, and observation.