Pendleton Hospital Gears Up for Injured

The Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton is nearly doubling its beds to handle troops wounded in the Gulf War, but the only casualties treated so far have been Marines injured during training in the Middle East.

The hospital’s commanding officer, Navy Capt. David Frost, said Monday that the number of beds is being increased from 157 to almost 300.

Frost said reservists are being used to boost the hospital’s staff of doctors, nurses and corpsmen, and now account for up to 30% of the staff.

“We’re ready,” said Frost.

However, Frost doesn’t know how many wounded to expect.

“We do not know what the casualty flow will be,” said Frost, adding that coordination among military, Veterans Administration and private hospitals is a “flexible system that will allow quick expansion.”

The base hospital will primarily serve troops who are stationed at Camp Pendleton and have family in the area. Others from Camp Pendleton that are wounded will be treated in hospitals nearest their families.

Frost said it might take some casualties weeks to arrive because they will be treated first at hospitals closer to the war zone.

His facility will provide surgical, orthopedic and psychiatric care. “We definitely have enough staff to man each and every bed,” Frost said.

So far, the only Marines in the Middle East who have required hospitalization were hurt in training exercises, Frost said.