May 12, the anniversary of the 1820 birth of pioneer nurse Florence Nightingale, is International Nurses Day honoring the dedicated work by nurses worldwide. In 1887, Clara Barton followed in her footsteps to found the American Red Cross. Today more than 20,000 volunteer and employee Red Cross nurses and other related health professionals help alleviate suffering, provide humanitarian aid, and promote healthy living throughout the United States.

The Red Cross has a long history of involving nurses in its mission, both in disaster relief and community service. Red Cross nurses have worked in various capacities, including disaster relief after floods, hurricanes, and other emergencies, and have also taught courses in home nursing and nutrition. Additionally, they have played a crucial role in blood donation drives and other health-related activities.

The Red Cross nurses of today

Current initiatives of the American Red Cross Nursing Committee include work on the elimination of measles and rubella. In conjunction with community partners, Red Cross nurses work to vaccinate children and educate families on the critical importance of immunization to eliminate the dangers of these diseases to children and pregnant women. They also work in preventive care by addressing the widespread risks of diabetes and hypertension in the community.

Strategies of the Red Cross Nursing Committee are developed for the entire country. However, alleviation of hunger, more equitable access to healthcare and remedies for unfair housing policies are applied with local community partners.

Red Cross Chief Nurse: Urgent need for healthcare professionals

Linda Fahey is the Chief Nurse for the American Red Cross and Program Director for Nursing and Health. She leads nursing and health practices across the organization, focusing on recruiting and engaging health professionals to support the Red Cross mission. As a Disaster Health Supervisor, Linda provides care and leadership during disasters. She began her career as a Navy nurse and has since held academic and hospital roles, expanding to executive positions while maintaining adjunct faculty status to support nursing education.

The need for nurses nationwide continues to grow with the number and intensity of disasters increasing each year. Just this year nurses and other health professionals responded to help individuals and families address their health needs after losing homes in the fires that swept Southern California in January. During the month of April, the call went out again as storms hit Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Illinois.

For each of these locations, nurses and their colleagues in other health professions volunteered to serve, making a difference in the lives of people who have lost so much. I recently responded to Tennessee as a disaster health services nurse and saw the devastation of tornadoes and flooding first-hand as I worked with a team of nurses who were on the ground supporting families who had lost everything.

We worked to address health care needs caused by the storms and went home knowing that our care made a difference. I urge those who are able to join the long line of Red Cross nurses who have served in the past. Please consider completing the training for Disaster Health Services so you are ready to respond in your community, in your region, and possibly even deploy nationally to help with this growing need.

Join us!

Many volunteer nurses and other healthcare professionals are now urgently needed because of so many recent disasters. If you are interested becoming a Red Cross nurse, click here.

Visit our website to learn more about the Red Cross Nursing Network.

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- Written by Rob Wilder