by Mary Jo Blackwood, American Red Cross volunteer
National Nurses Week: May 6-12, 2020
Nurses are on the front lines of our country all the time, but never more than they are now, during the Covid-19 crisis. This year, as every year, the American Red Cross is grateful for our volunteer nurses and all they do for our organization and our country. This series of articles highlights some of their stories and how we couldn’t do what we do without them!
Christina True, Disaster Health Services Lead Nurse for Wyoming
Three years ago, this nurse on hiatus from hospital nursing to raise her nine children was finding herself with time on her hands. The youngest ones were increasingly self-sufficient homeschool students, some were away at college and others married. Then the hurricane hit Puerto Rico and she decided that she could like to become a Red Cross volunteer and help out with the relief effort. So she contacted the Red Cross and, despite her novice status as a relief volunteer, her new regional DPM supported her deployment to the hard-hit island. Returning home from the Caribbean DRO, Christina delved deeper into local ARC functions and increased her training and involvement; soon, they asked if she would take charge of Disaster Health Services for Wyoming. At the time, she was the only nurse volunteer in the state. Since then, they have three nurses and she coordinates a roster of health services volunteers that include registered nurses, EMTs, certified nursing assistants (CNAs), a nurse practitioner, and even prospective pharmacists. She also does phone-based health services casework for the Disaster Action Team response to single family disasters.
“Over this time of pandemic response, I have been impressed with the leadership of the American Red Cross. Recently, for example, I became familiar with the ingenuity of the regional director officer for Tennessee after the tornados there. They were able to house 500 people in hotel settings, all following Covid-19 guidelines. This organization is really able to promptly respond with a plan for dealing with extreme circumstances like these.”
She enjoys her role with the Red Cross as Wyoming Health Services lead, but she really serves to deploy for disasters. When disaster struck Puerto Rico, she took and completed her online training and deployed for Hurricane Maria relief operations, all within two weeks. She admits it was pretty scary that first time, not knowing where specifically she was going, whether anyone would know she was there and would tell her what to do.
“Of course, it all worked out the way it was supposed to do. Someone met me, and I was taken care of as part of the team. This was the first time I’d ever slept in a church on a cot with 100 people. If someone had asked me if I could do some of the things I did, I would have said no. This was a tremendous opportunity for personal growth.”
True gives the Red Cross so much credit for helping her learn about her personal capabilities. Since then she has done two more DRO deployments and has continued to grow. She explains that when a disaster strikes and a volunteer is called to respond, that person is usually on a plane or in a car on the way within 24 hours. Everything happens quickly and it is later that you think of all the what-ifs. By then, you are engaged and doing it.
She finds her Red Cross nursing job more of an intellectual critical thinking role than hands-on nursing care. And while she plans to continue to do this, it got her thinking about getting back into more patient-care nursing, as well, at least part-time. She credits the Red Cross with fostering the desire to continue to grow as a health care professional and helping those around her who need it the most.