Back When disaster strikes, who’re you gonna call?  Ghostbusters?  Superman?  Nope.  The American Red Cross.  From fires to floods to hazmat spills, all imaginable natural and man-made disasters, the American Red Cross is helping people all across America everyday.  From the forest and brush fires in Southern California, to floods and relief to hurricane victims along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, to flood and tornado relief aid in the Midwest, Americans all across the country count on the American Red Cross. While the American Red Cross is not a government agency, it does carry out a congressionally chartered mission, dating from 1905, to mitigate “the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods and other great national calamities.”  The organization takes its mission very seriously, and is continually training and planning in maintaining a state of preparedness for any disaster.  From their 1300 chapters across the nation, the American Red Cross is prepared to respond within two hours notice of a disaster.  In high-risk areas, the organization maintains resources and personnel at the ready.  If help is needed from beyond the affected state, assistance is coordinated through the national headquarters in Washington, DC. In 2003, the American Red Cross sponsored 73,000 disaster relief programs.  This relief comes in various forms, depending on the needs.  Emergency medical and first aid assistance in coordination with local health officials, and referrals and direct assistance in helping disaster victims pay for rent, groceries, clothing, emergency home repairs, household needs, transportation and occupational tools.  Mental health care in the wake of a disaster is an important part of their services, and the organization also handles inquiries from family members outside the disaster area to reassure them that their loved ones are safe.  All assistance is free to the victims.  Emergency funds, blood collection, distribution of monetary aid – these are all part of the Red Cross’ mission. And not only is the American Red Cross there to help when disaster strikes, they train millions of Americans annually in lifesaving skills and techniques, which greatly multiplies the number of lives saved each year.  Did you earn your Red Cross Swimmer’s and Lifeguard certificates?  Did you first learn CPR and first aid from a Red Cross training program?  Do you use a babysitter who’s had training through the Red Cross? And, as if all that weren’t enough, the Red Cross performs another valuable service for the families of military personnel by providing emergency communications.  A new baby born while dad is serving in Iraq?  The Red Cross is there to set up the phone lines from new mother to dad.  A sudden illness or death in a soldier’s family back home?  Count on the Red Cross to set up communications between the soldier and the family when information is so important. Nurses play an important role in carrying out the mission of the American Red Cross, both as paid employees and as volunteers.  Of course, we all know about Clara Barton and her role in bringing nursing to Civil War and Spanish American War soldiers.  Since the Red Cross Nursing Service officially began in 1909, nurses have served at every level of the mission, from disaster action and blood collection teams to training nurse’s assistants and teaching people about HIV/AIDS, CPR/first aid, automatic emergency defibrillation (AED), disaster health services, and babysitting.  Nurses even play governance roles, from the local board level to the American Red Cross National Board of Governors.  Whether as a paid or a volunteer nurse, your local American Red Cross is probably looking for your services. If disaster strikes, be thankful that the American Red Cross will be there to help. This story may be available for an Adobe Acrobat PDF download. Click on the link below to visit the site download center. If a PDF is available, the file will automatically open in your browser.

Print