Ok, class, get out your freshly sharpened #2 pencils and put away your textbooks because…it’s Trivia Time! Today’s Topic? Red Cross Nurses. Why? Because it’s National Nurses Week and we here at the Red Cross want to honor all Red Cross nurses–past and present.

Good luck, my diligent students! And remember, no talking during the test…

ARC HIST 101 Quiz: Red Cross Nurses
1) In what year was the Red Cross Nursing Service formally established?
2) Who was the first director of the Red Cross Nursing Service? (Hint, she’s pictured here)
3) How many nurses are involved with the Red Cross today? What roles do they play?

Ok! Time’s up! You’ve thought long and hard enough. Everyone gets an A just for participating (I’m so nice). Here are your answers…

Answers:
1) The Red Cross Nursing Service was established in 1909. But nurses were involved with the Red Cross as early as the 1880s. Historically, Red Cross nurses provided their assistance during times of disaster and conflict (such as with the 1888 Yellow Fever Epidemic and the 1889 Johnstown Flood).
2) The first Director of the Red Cross Nursing Service was Jane Delano (1862 – 1919)
3) Today over 40,000 nurses support the American Red Cross through paid and volunteer service. Below are examples of the roles nurses play at the Red Cross today:

• Provide direct services: part of Local Disaster Action Teams (DAT), volunteer in military clinics and hospitals, part of blood collections team, and tissue donor recruitment
• Teach and develop courses: HIV/AIDS, CPR/First Aid, Automated Emergency Defibrillator (AED), Disaster Health Services, Nurse Assistant Training, Babysitter Training, International Humanitarian Law, Family Caregiving, etc.
• Act in management and supervisory roles in Chapters and Blood Regions
• Serve in support functions: committee members, fundraisers, marketers, etc.

Good job, class! I’m so proud of you for all your hard work today. I hope you take this knowledge outside of our classroom and share it with those you know. Remember to show your appreciation for any nurses you may know (shout out to my best friend Debbie!).

“Perhaps of no other figure in American tradition have there been more stories written, pictures painted, songs sung than of the American Red Cross Nurse. She has personified courage, sympathy and gentle strength in contrast with the brutality of war.” –President Warren G. Harding, 1922