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King George medic works with grassroots relief effort in Haiti and Chile Date published: 3/22/2010
BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE
A Jesuit monk, a Mormon medic and a Catholic film producer meet in an airport. What follows isn't a punch line but a new model for relief efforts that saved countless lives in Haiti and Chile. King George County medic Mark Hayward stumbled onto Team Rubicon, a grassroots, volunteer relief group, en route to Haiti in January. A former medic for the U.S. Army Special Forces and a physician's assistant in the emergency room of St. Mary's Hospital in Leonardtown, Md., Hayward specializes in acting quickly. He's not so good at sitting still. Hayward lived in Haiti for three months last year, and when he saw footage of the earthquake, he knew he could help. He knew the infrastructure of Port-au-Prince, and he could treat injuries. But when he called aid groups, Hayward got the same answer: Just send money. When Hayward talked to sources on the ground, however, he heard a different response: We need you desperately. So he bought a ticket to fly into the Dominican Republic, where he planned to hitch rides to Haiti. In a shuttle at Reagan National Airport, Hayward met a man with a similar plan. But Will McNulty also had letters from ambassadors and the U.S. Department of State. "I decided he was not just some guy on a plane," Hayward said. McNulty was an Alexandria resident, owner of a film production company and a member of a newly formed relief effort called Team Rubicon. The group began shortly after the earthquake hit Haiti on Jan. 12. Jake Wood, a former Marine, saw the devastation and knew he could help. "I put a post up on Facebook asking who wanted to go with me," Wood said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. Within moments, some friends pledged money and some volunteered to go with Wood. He and three others decided to go to Haiti. In airports, buses and in Port-au-Prince, they picked up other volunteers along the way. The team grew to include doctors, firefighters, EMTs and a Jesuit monk. They also added a group of brain surgeons from Oregon. "If it were a work of fiction, no one would believe it," Hayward said. The group's vision was clear: To get in fast, provide triage support and get out when the traditional relief groups arrived.
Date published: 3/22/2010
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