EASLEY – Rex Rubin, a captain in the U.S. Air Force, recently presented the Baptist Easley Hospital board with a box that contained a faded Baptist Easley flag as well as an American Flag, both of which flew over Bagram during his duty in Afghanistan.
Rubin, a registered nurse for Baptist Easley Hospital’s Emergency Department, was deployed in May 2015 to Bagram, Afghanistan as an aeromedical flight nurse. During his time in Afghanistan, Rubin flew more than 55 missions and treated more than 234 patients.
He took items with him that reminded him of home, including a Baptist Easley Hospital flag.
“I have such pride for this hospital,” Rubin said. “The people that I work with at Baptist Easley Hospital are family. I wanted this flag as a reminder everyday while I was serving.”
In a letter to Baptist Easley CEO Michael Batchelor, Col. Diane Difrancesco, commander of the N.C. USAFR, wrote “Rex is serving his county in a distinctive manner. Executing Aeromedical Evacuation operations in a combat environment is a challenging and tough business, and we only select the Air Force’s finest to serve in this capacity. Your hospital has a lot to be proud of.”
Rubin presented the flags to the board at the October meeting.
