Debbie Sutton (right), wearing an authentic, vintage World War II nursing uniform, joins fellow Red Cross nursing volunteer Heddy Niemeyer, who is dressed as American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, bringing history to life at a community event. (Photo by Mimi Teller/American Red Cross).
Emily Hache/American Red Cross
After retiring in 2004 from a 58-year nursing career, Debbie Sutton could have slowed down. Instead, she chose to continue serving others by volunteering with the American Red Cross. That first year turned into a relationship that has lasted more than 20 years. During Nurses Month, the Red Cross honors volunteers like Sutton, whose lifelong commitment to helping others continues to inspire future generations of nurses and volunteers alike.
Now 87, Sutton considers her decades with the Red Cross as some of the most rewarding of her life.
“I had known about the American Red Cross most of my career,” Sutton said. “They were always there after a disaster, and I joined because it gave me a way to serve my community. I didn't know volunteering was going to be so rewarding until I started!”
Debbie Sutton (far right) stands alongside fellow Red Cross nursing volunteers Jonie Levis (left) and Karen Wells (center) while supporting community outreach efforts. (Photo courtesy Jane Dean/American Red Cross).
As a volunteer nurse, Sutton deployed eight times to disasters across the country, including responses in Missouri, Kentucky, Texas and New Jersey. Her nursing experience from working in hospitals, private practice and for the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services gave her a unique skillset. In the shelter setting, she provided medical care, health screenings, medications and support for displaced families.
“It's beyond words to even express the rewarding feeling,” Sutton said. “You want to continue, continue; continue until really, I got to the point where I physically couldn’t. And so, in my early 80s, I knew I had to step back.”
Sutton shifted to community health fairs, mobile outreach events and Red Cross Hometown Heroes Awards luncheons, where she often delighted guests wearing a vintage 1942 nurse’s uniform.
Sutton believes the Red Cross offers medical professionals a unique opportunity to use their skills while making a direct impact in their communities. Medical professionals can volunteer in many ways with the Red Cross beyond disaster deployments, including blood drives, community outreach and local events.
“You can have everything you're looking for if you volunteer for the Red Cross. It offers you opportunities to do pretty much what your heart desires,“ Debbie shared.
Debbie sums up what makes a great Red Crosser: “People who have a heart for people. No one would last at volunteering for anything if they didn't have people in the center of their heart.”
If you are interested in following in Debbie Sutton’s footsteps as a Red Cross volunteer nurse, visit: redcross.org/volunteer.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.
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