Find your State Nurse Liaison

If you would like to get in touch with your State Nurse Liasion, this link with take you to a roster by state. SNL Roster

Opportunities for Nursing Students in the Red Cross

The following was written to a local university faculty member by Phillip Bovender, State Nurse Liaison for Maryland. It explains the programs available through the Red Cross for nursing students:

"As a volunteer active in local and national disaster response, and as American Red Cross State Nurse Liaison for Maryland, I would be happy to speak to your group at a date and time of your choosing in October.

I would also like to speak to someone at Salisbury about the American Red Cross National Student Nurse Program which prepares students to assume roles in Disaster Health Services upon graduation and licensure. Offered as a component to community health, it fulfills the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's recommendation of disaster preparedness content in baccalaureate curricula. Also offered is a medical/surgical presentation on blood components and transfusion therapy, Red Cross's role in donation and processing and the nurse's role in administration.

Red Cross has implemented an enhanced service delivery model for Disaster Health Services recently which empowers nurses to practice at the level of their education and licensure on deployment. FEMA's requirements for congregate shelter inclusion of all persons with functional needs make nursing's participation essential. More domestic Red Cross Nursing participation with Service to the Armed Forces is planned as the Department of Veterans Affairs copes with the influx of veterans from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nurses continue to serve as instructors in Health and Safety, teaching CPR, CNA and babysitting courses. This is an exciting time to be a Red Cross nurse.

Disaster Health Services

Always on alert, the Red Cross assists the victims of some 60,000 disasters annually. Emergencies range from family house fires to the massive devastation wrought by earthqueakes, floods and hurricanes.

Since the early days of the Red Cross, nurses have played vital roles in coping with health care needs when disaster strikes. Red Cross nurses are involved with shelter nursing, health consultation, liaison with local medical authorities and follow-up with lost medications and medical equipment---as well and providing care for the caregivers.

Opportunities for Registered Nurses

Whatever your special interests as a nurse, the American Red Cross provides you with exciting opportunities. You may want to expand your professional horizons while fulfilling your need to be of service. You may wish to maintain your connection to nursing while staying at home with your family. Or, you may want to return to nursing in a unique setting. Whatever your situation, the Red Cross has a place for you - a place where you can make a real difference. I'll be talking about these various opportunities in future posts.

The State Nurse Liaison Network

Since my last posting, I have become the State Nurse Liasion Advisor for the Mid-Atlantic and Mid-East States. This includes DC,DE,MD,PA,NC,SC,VA,WV,KY,IN,OH,TN. In this role, I advise the Red Cross State Nurse Liaisons (SNL) in these states and recruit new SNLs for those states without SNLs. Currently there are openings in WV, KY,OH, and TN. Any Red Cross nurse interested in finding out more about these positions, let me know.