Team Rubicon USA

In March 2023, for the second time in two months, Cyclone Freddy made land fall in southern Malawi, triggering floods and mudslides across the country, killing over 500 people, and displacing over 500,000 Malawians. In response to the cyclone, on March 25, 2023, Team Rubicon International (TRI) dispatched 2 EMT Type 1 Mobile Medical Units to Zomba, Malawi, where an estimated 20,000 people have sought refuge in 119 refugee camps. Under the direction of the Malawian Ministry of Health, these teams will provide medical care and WASH services to displaced Malawians across affected areas. As of March 30, TRI has treated 208 patients, in which it is expected this number will increase significantly as the flood waters recede. The first EMT wave will remain in Malawi until April 12th, with a second wave expected to depart soon after.

Between February 13-24, 2023, Team Rubicon’s (TR) international team, in collaboration with Service d’Aide Medicale d’Urgence (SAMU) Niger, traveled to Niamey, Niger, providing medical trainings in two subjects, including MEDEVAC and pre-hospital care. Over the course of two weeks, TR provided training courses to SAMU staff to help Niger enhance its capacity in its prehospital program and local healthcare systems, similar to TR’s previous training in La Ceiba, Honduras in June 2022. The trainings were led by eight medical professionals and one team leader. In tandem with the training, TR also performed a needs assessment on Niger’s healthcare system to provide recommendations on how to further build capacity in the future. To date, TR has trained 133 course participants, in which trainings are set to be completed by February 24, 2023.

Between November 26th – December 23rd, 2022, Team Rubicon (TR) dispatched a team of volunteers to assist with medical support to vulnerable communities in the Donetsk and Kharkiv Oblasts. Following the success of the Practical Trauma Training Program, a group of 8 Greyshirt volunteers traveled to affected areas surrounding Kramatorsk, delivering critical medical assistance to 204 Ukrainians, including in Lyman, Pisky-Radkivski, Sviatohirsk, Khrestische, and Mayaky. Of the 204 people seen, over half of those individuals were over the age of 60, showcasing the need for medical care for older persons in these populations. For many Ukrainians in these conflict-impacted cities, the arrival of TR’s medical team was a welcomed sight, allowing people to access much-needed medical check-ups and prescriptions that had not readily been available since before the war. Learn more.

On October 7, 2022, Team Rubicon (TR) completed the Practical Trauma Training Program in Ukraine. Since early August, a 7-person mobile team provided targeted trainings in six topics to Ukrainian healthcare professionals and civilians across the country, including in 16 cities in 10 oblasts. Throughout the course of the program, TR completed 64 trainings to 1,549 unique individuals and donated an incredible amount of medical supplies, including 50 Butterfly iQ+ for point of care ultrasound. The program achieved all its objectives, including growing specialized medical capacity within the Ukrainian healthcare system, while making an incredible impact, as the capabilities developed will help save countless lives in the days and months to come. Learn more.

Beginning in August 2022, Team Rubicon (TR) has been implementing a Practical Trauma Training program in Ukraine. The objective of this program is to expand specialized medical capacity within the Ukrainian healthcare system as it relates to conflict and emergency medicine to reduce potentially preventable morbidity and mortality, alleviate suffering, and to maintain human dignity during this time of war. This program provides training in six topics, including Whole Blood Transfusion, Stop the Bleed, Blast Injuries with Basic First Aid Field Trauma, Pre-hospital Care: Triage and Shock Management, Point of Care Ultrasound, and Treatment of Chemical Exposures. As of September 27, TR has trained 1,138 unique individuals, across 42 trainings, ranging from doctors, paramedics, nurses, hospital administrators, and other professions. TR is set to complete trainings on October 7, 2022.

In collaboration with the Honduran Red Cross, Honduran Air force, Comisión Permanente de Contingencias (COPECO), and Hospital Regional Atlantida, Team Rubicon (TR) provided several medical trainings in La Ceiba, Honduras between June 6-18, 2022. The exercise, part of Resolute Sentinel 2022 with US Southern Command, included trauma assessment and management, point of care ultrasound, advance airway in trauma, and other emergency medical procedures. Within the 12 days of the training program, TR provided training for 125 participants, ranging from civilian volunteers to physicians. Honduras is highly vulnerable to the impacts of natural disasters and humanitarian crises, and in rural places, like La Ceiba, extreme poverty and lack of healthcare exacerbate these vulnerabilities. These trainings were essential in providing an immediate impact on the level of care to surrounding communities.

In coordination with the US Southern Command and host-nation civil military authorities, Team Rubicon (TR) will be participating in the Resolute Sentinel, a series of humanitarian assistance exercises taking place throughout Guatemala between May and August, providing mobile medical support and capacity building to vulnerable communities. Certified as a WHO Type 1 Mobile Emergency Medical Team, TR personnel will be essential in providing medical aid to communities in three Guatemalan regions, including San Benito, San Andreas/San Jose, and El Melchor de Mencos. This will be the third year that TR has participated in the Resolute Sentinel.