COM Outlook Spring 2019

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 11 Armed with chainsaws, KPCOM student Gabriel Quinones-Medina, M.S., M.B.S.—a Team Rubicon regional chainsaw instructor— and his squad were deployed to the Florida Panhandle a day after Hurricane Michael devastated the area on October 10, 2018. NSU administrators approved the effort, allowing Quinones-Medina to spend the next few days clearing main and secondary roads so emergency services and utility companies could navigate the debris-strewn streets. Team Rubicon, established in 2010, is an international, nonprofit disaster response team that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams, free of charge, to communities affected by disasters. Quinones-Medina, who also is pursuing a Master of Science in Disaster and Emergency Management from NSU-KPCOM, initially joined forces with Team Rubicon in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, which decimated large swaths of Puerto Rico. “I learned about Team Rubicon from a close friend just after Hurricane Irma had swept through Puerto Rico and Florida. Then, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, my home country,” he explained. “I was looking for opportunities to help my family and friends in Puerto Rico when I heard that Team Rubicon was planning a medical response trip to the island,” added Quinones- Medina, who worked as an emergency room BY SCOTT COLTON, B.A., APR GABRIEL QUINONES-MEDINA PROVIDES DISASTER RELIEF HELP Gabriel Quinones-Medina uses a chainsaw to assist with hurricane cleanup efforts.