National Nurses Week: Saluting Red Cross Nurses

Written by Lilly Watson, staff contributor

The American Red Cross nurse is an icon to our organization and American history. They began serving the American public in 1888 during the Yellow Fever epidemic and in1889 during the Johnstown floods. Jane Delano (link to story) formally established The Red Cross Nursing Service in 1909. As nurses served together with the Red Cross, they also evolved the nursing industry themselves. Red Cross Nurses such as Jane Delano, Clara Noyes and Julia Stimson created the modern day nurse by developing the industry into how they saw it should be.

Today, more than 20,000 nurses work with the Red Cross in many levels of service. A modern day Red Cross Nurse might find his or herself in any of the following capacities:

• Providing direct service: responding to disasters on local Disaster Action Teams (DAT), Health Fairs, volunteer in military clinics and hospitals, promoting blood collection team, first aid stations

• Teaching and developing courses: CPR/First Aid, Automatic emergency Defibrillator(AED), Disaster Health Services, Nurse Assistant Training, Babysitting, Family Caregiving

• Acting in management and supervisory roles: including Chapter and Blood Services region executives

• Functioning in governance roles: local board member to national Board of Governors

This National Nurses Week, the Red Cross recognizes that nursing is more than a vocation, it’s a calling. We hope that nurses in America continue to know that by working with the Red Cross, you’re using your unique skills to serve the community in ways beyond what you might find professionally.

If you are a nurse interested in working with the Red Cross, visit us online to begin your volunteer application today!