Huntsville Center contract aids Navy hospital ship supporting coronavirus-19 efforts

Huntsville Center Public Affairs
Published March 23, 2020
Pallets of supplies await to be craned aboard Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) at Naval Base San Diego, March 21. Huntsville Center is providing an $187,000 information technology software acquisition for the Mercy as the ship serves as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients currently admitted to shore-based hospitals.

Pallets of supplies await to be craned aboard Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) at Naval Base San Diego, March 21. Huntsville Center is providing an $187,000 information technology software acquisition for the Mercy as the ship serves as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients currently admitted to shore-based hospitals.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville workforce is practicing social distancing and teleworking from home, a group of the Center’s contracting directorate personnel put together an important U.S. Navy contract.

The Pentagon announced March 18 that the USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy are being prepared for deployment to assist potentially overwhelmed communities with acute non-coronavirus patient care.

Both ships are preparing for deployment and Huntsville Center is assisting in the preparation by providing an $187,000 information technology contract for the Mercy.

The statement of work calls for a software acquisition so the ship’s medical staff can perform tele-healthcare for patients on shore.

Lisa Snead, Huntsville Center contracting officer, said the Facility Technology Integration Division - Medical program IT contract is vital for the support of the ship’s mission.

The Corps of Engineers is prepared to assist the nation in a time of crisis to the very best of its capabilities, she said.

“It’s important for us to do our part, and we have the contracting capability to get this contract out expediently to assist the Mercy and its mission,” Snead said.

The contract is through the Huntsville Center’s Facility Technology Integration Division - Medical program which offers technical expertise in the design, development, procurement, integration, installation, and project management oversight for the implementation of Facility Communications Distribution Systems for the Department of Defense medical community.