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Team Rubicon USA Deploying an Emergency Medical Team to Southern Saipan

Countries
Northern Mariana Islands (The United States of America)
Sources
TR
Publication date

Team Rubicon USA is the first WHO-verified NGO in North America, and is deploying an EMT domestically that is operating within the standards developed for the verification process

Tinian, CNMI (Nov. 5, 2018) – Team Rubicon USA, a veteran-led global disaster response organization, is deploying a mobile Emergency Medical Team (EMT) to southern Saipan to assist in on-going Super Typhoon Yutu response and recovery efforts. In coordination with the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC), the mobile EMT will be conducting damage and health assessments in the hardest hit areas, reporting the information back to CHCC to help inform their response, and providing mobile medical care and/or referrals, as needed.

Team Rubicon has had an EMT in Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) for the last week. In Tinian, the EMT has been providing mobile medical services, conducting shelter health assessments in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the CHCC, and has integrated into the Tinian Health Center's medical system as force multipliers to treat and care for patients in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yutu. So far, the Team Rubicon EMT has treated and cared for 112 residents in Tinian at the Health Center, in the shelters, and out in the community with mobile medical teams.

Moving forward, Team Rubicon's EMT will be splitting into two elements. One element will be continuing to staff and run the Tinian Health Center 12 hours per day – providing care to residents as well as relief to their medical workers, allowing them to take additional time to deal with storm damage and care for their own families. The other element will be flying to southern Saipan to conduct mobile medical operations for the next week.

"Team Rubicon has been training all year for a situation like this," said William Porter, Manager of National Planning at Team Rubicon. "Our teams are flexible, adaptable, and excel when operating in austere environments. Our mobile EMT is committed to assisting the CHCC and bringing life-saving care to the residents of Saipan."

In June 2018, Team Rubicon USA received verification from the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Type-1 Mobile Emergency Medical Team. Team Rubicon's Type-1 Mobile EMTs can deploy rapidly to disaster zones around the world to stand-up mobile field clinics and provide life-saving care in austere environments.

Team Rubicon boasts a 91,000-strong, highly skilled volunteer force that helps communities stabilize and recover after devastating natural disasters. Since its inception, following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Team Rubicon has carried out 310 disaster response and recovery operations, including for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

Through a strong communications infrastructure supported by our cutting-edge technology solutions, Team Rubicon volunteers efficiently and effectively respond to natural disasters and help families return to their homes as soon as possible. By asking military veteran volunteers to continue their service through disaster response, Team Rubicon provides them an avenue to gain a renewed sense of purpose, community, and identity.

About Team Rubicon

Team Rubicon unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams. Team Rubicon is a nonprofit organization offering veterans a chance to continue their service by helping those affected by disasters, and also themselves. Programs and services are made possible by the support of individual donors, corporate partners, and the dedication of volunteers across the country. To join or support Team Rubicon's mission, visit ://www.teamrubiconusa.org>.