PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller has publicly expressed gratitude to the United States Naval Ship (USNS) Comfort for having provided well-needed medical services to Jamaicans.

The Comfort team was in the island from May 6 to 13 and provided medical services to approximately 10,000 Jamaicans at several hospitals, health centres and schools during the period. Services provided included optometry, dentistry, general medical, women’s health, pediatrics, and pharmacy.

The crew also conducted professional medical exchanges with their Jamaican counterparts and engaged in community outreach projects.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the naval ship’s visit at the United States Embassy on Wednesday, Simpson Miller said the intervention had strengthened “this special bond of friendship that our countries and people share”.

“Thank you for partnering with the Government of Jamaica to address some of the pressing social needs of our people and to provide service to the most vulnerable among us,” she said. “It also lends vital support to the ongoing initiatives of the Government to improve our facilities, services and access to quality health care and education for all our people,” Simpson Miller added.

The visit of the USNS Comfort to Jamaica is part of ‘Continuing Promise’, a six-month humanitarian mission across Latin America and the Caribbean. The ship will lso visit Belize, Colombia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.