No, Mr. Trump, Greenland doesn’t need a hospital ship. I should know
I wouldn’t ordinarily write about this. Food poisoning isn’t something one likes to have, let alone tell the world about. But there is a point to make.
I was in Nuuk, Greenland last month to attend two conferences for Arctic Today: the annual Meeting of the Arctic Economic Council, and the Future Greenland Business conference.
Both were well attended, insightful gatherings that reinforced the enormous benefit of travel to in-person meetings.
By mid-week, after eating at a local restaurant, I could feel the dreaded sensation coming on.
The sickness progressed so quickly that by the middle of the night, I knew I had to get help. But in my hotel room, all alone, I couldn’t even summon the strength to do that. Thankfully, the hotel reception had someone answering the phone. This kind and responsive gentleman called an ambulance for me.
Strong EMT’s lifted me downstairs and strapped me into an ambulance. We drove silently through the sleeping city of Nuuk and within minutes, I was being wheeled into the emergency entrance of the Queen Ingrid’s hospital.
Highly professional treatment
The care was first rate. A succession of Danish and Greenlandic nurses came to treat me. They administered IV fluids, gave me anti-nausea medication, and did basic blood tests. They were kind, highly professional, and totally competent.
After several hours, I could feel myself returning. In fact, I could imagine standing up, walking, taking part in life again. The charge nurse declared I was strong enough to be discharged into a taxi, and back to the hotel for rest.
My point is simply this: Donald Trump, Greenland doesn’t need you to send a hospital ship. Its hospital system can administer competent medical care as efficiently as in most places in the U.S.
For those who missed it: in February, Trump said he was working to send a military hospital ship to Greenland to help the “many people” he alleged were “not being taken care of.” The prime minister of Greenland said: “No thanks.”
Of course, there are remote settlements along the Greenlandic coastline that lack even the most basic medical facilities. Sadly though, that is equally true in pockets of rural America. There are scores of towns and villages scattered throughout the U.S. without so much as a clinic or urgent care facility.
In Greenland, all residents receive care for free. If they are in a remote settlement and their condition is life threatening, air transport will come for them.
As a visitor, I had to pay for my care. But the cost was less than it would have been for many people in the U.S. without health insurance.
Universal care
Greenland’s system of government provides for basic care for all its residents, as is true in Denmark and other Nordic countries. This is only one way in which its people have a guaranteed, basic standard of living similar to that in other social democratic societies.
Our U.S. standards and norms are so different that it is difficult to imagine how Greenlanders could ever choose to become part of the U.S.
It is obvious to this observer that Greenland’s Nordic society has no need for a helping hand from the U.S. in the form of a hospital ship — or anyone else for that matter.
Alice Rogoff is the founder and publisher of Arctic Today.
