Red Cross Nurses Provide Essential Health Services to Families Impact by Disaster
In honor of National Nurses Week, get to know a volunteer nurse serving our humanitarian mission
In honor of National Nurses Week, get to know a volunteer nurse serving our humanitarian mission
By: Kathy Stewart, Red Cross Volunteer
National Nurses Week makes a fitting time to meet and celebrate Carolyn Jacobs, one of more than 11,000 nurses and other health professionals who volunteer with the American Red Cross.
Carolyn spent 35 years as a Clinical Trials Coordinator including ICU, liver and kidney transplants before retiring in 2019. Soon after, Carolyn realized that she needed to do something with her extra time, and “the American Red Cross fit the bill.”
She jumped right in as a volunteer, simultaneously working roles as both a blood donor ambassador and also as a transportation specialist, in addition to working with Disaster Health Services.
Carolyn knows firsthand how important blood donations are for patients after her long career as a nurse. “We gave blood and platelets all the time. Sometimes the amount of blood that was available would go down and we would be at kind of a scary point when we realized that we’d need to start up more blood drives to get the folks in there to donate.”
She also understands that blood donation is a constant need, laughing as she noted that “I couldn’t always donate because my hematocrit level was too low. Now it’s good so I need to get in and donate myself! I’m an A-positive!” As the Lowcountry Coordinator, covering nine counties in the Lowcountry area of SC, Carolyn mentors new trainees who come on board at the Charleston, SC chapter and also coordinates the nursing staff who cover the shelters in the event of a disaster.
Carolyn and the volunteer teams are a crucial part of making sure that families get what they need quickly after local smaller disasters, such as home fires. “We take turns being on call and as soon as we receive contact information, we reach out and let them know that we’re nurses with the Red Cross. We help them discover any medical items they may have lost in the fire, like medical equipment, medications or prescription glasses. We’re authorized to provide monetary assistance for those lost items.”
It's not surprising that after volunteering for two years, Carolyn has seen a variety of different, interesting cases and finds a great deal of satisfaction in helping to fulfill needs. “We see folks in underserved communities without a lot of support for medical care. We discovered that the Palmetto Palace, a mobile pharmacy/medical unit, would be able to come to some of these communities in the Charleston area. They provide the care that’s really needed, things like getting medications replaced. To have folks be able to come on board their unit and be seen and get signed up for the care they need—I think that’s pretty significant and I’m excited to be partnering with this group.”
Nurses like Carolyn Jacobs continue the proud tradition of service that stretches back to the earliest days of the organization. This service is ongoing and informs the future of nursing in many ways that support workforce development in disaster nursing and public health emergencies. Other nursing leadership initiatives the American Red Cross provides include the Red Cross Nursing Network, which helps the Red Cross recruit, engage, and recognize the nurses and other health professionals who are essential in fulfilling the mission of the Red Cross.
Are you a nurse, nursing or health student, or other health professional? It’s easy to see the most needed volunteer opportunities. You can also use the American Red Cross volunteer role finder to explore opportunities in your community. Be a part of a vital team of volunteers like Carolyn who work tirelessly every day to further the American Red Cross mission of preventing and relieving suffering.
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