LOS ANGELES — Two days after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, the World Health Organization issued a global request: The war-torn country needed doctors, nurses and EMTs with experience in complex emergencies.
Within days, a 22-person group from Team Rubicon, an international disaster-response nonprofit based near Los Angeles International Airport, flew to Krakow, Poland.
The team of doctors, nurses and other skilled professionals drove rented cars about 160 miles to the border. They crossed on foot into Ukraine, where a fleet of vehicles was waiting. Splitting up into smaller groups, they fanned out across the western reaches of the country, visiting hospitals and field clinics.
