HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Tom Poulton, MD, chief of pediatric anesthesia and a pediatric intensivist at Cabell Huntington Hospital, has been selected to participate in a pediatric medical mission to Nicaragua later this spring.

The mission is sponsored jointly by the U.S. Navy, Project Hope and Operation Smile. A veteran of the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, Dr. Poulton still serves every year as a pediatric intensivist and anesthesiologist at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. This spring’s mission is part of the Navy’s “Operation Continuing Promise” and it brings the joint expertise of Navy and civilian volunteer medical personnel to Third World countries in Central America.

Dr. Poulton will direct the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit on the “white hull” ship USNS Comfort, a self-contained hospital ship operated as a U.S. Navy command that will serve as the platform for the mission. The 970 foot-long vessel has 1,000 beds, six operating rooms, three ICUs, and quarters for more than 200 crew members. The mission will run in conjunction with adult medical activities and is planned to provide a full week of around-the-clock operation of four pediatric operating rooms for plastic surgical procedures on infants and children with congenital or acquired problems such as cleft lip and palate and burn injuries. Team members expect to screen up to several thousand children to identify a few hundred who will benefit most from the procedures being offered.

Dr. Poulton will also provide anesthesia for children and said he is excited to visit Nicaragua.

“The United States has had a very complicated and occasionally hostile relationship with Nicaragua,” Dr. Poulton said. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve the children and young families of this beautiful country, which is known for its friendly people and commitment to their children.

We will have the opportunity not only to provide care to kids that the country could not afford without this help, but will also be able to share our experience and expertise with Nicaraguan doctors and nurses, who will work side by side with us as we care for the children.”