Notable Nurses – Clara Barton

Women have often been on the forefront of healing and nursing, seeing where change is needed and making that change happen. One such woman is Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross and “Angel of the Battlefield” during the Civil War.

After personally taking supplies to the front lines of the war and earning her nickname, Barton founded the Red Cross in 1881 at 59 yrs old and led it for 23 years. She was inspired by an 1869 visit to the Swiss Red Cross, “which called for international agreements to protect the sick and wounded during wartime and for the formation of national societies to give aid voluntarily on a neutral basis.”

The American Red Cross is an independent, non-profit, tax-exempt charity (501(c)3), but they are given responsibilities by the federal government, such as honoring the Geneva Conventions, supporting the US military, and working with the National Response Framework and Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA)

“The Red Cross…has often seemed to be the friendly hand of this nation, reaching across the sea to sustain its fighting men. “– Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Address to Congress, June 18, 1945

Since March 2020, The Red Cross has been active in natural disaster relief (aiding after the many hurricanes and the derecho in Iowa), as well as investigating COVID-19 and the use of ‘convalescent plasma” which contains important antibodies.

The Red Cross is an essential American institution, and we are grateful for them!

Legislation and Community Action

February 9, 2021

Joan Vaughn

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Written by Joan Vaughn

I’m Joan, and I know home care from the inside out. I’ve navigated my daughter through 24/7 home care nursing and managed her PCA’s. I’ve helped my parents move into (and out of) assisted living, Medicare episodes, skilled nurse visits, home health aids, and PCAs. Sandwiched in all of that, I’ve helped coordinate home care equipment and supplies, physical therapists, occupational therapists, county workers, and medications (oh, the medications). I know emergency departments, children’s hospitals, cancer wards, cardiac floors, and specialty units. I can recite health insurance policies (and call their bluff). I know a lot of other things in life too, like Shakespeare, where to sit to see a great sunset over a lake, how to keep myself healthy, how to read a profit/loss statement and state statutes, when to use a comma, and that gratitude is one of the keys to success. So I’m going to have this blog and write about home care from time to time. I’ll include topics like current legislation, professional boundaries in a tricky environment, and being a caregiver. I’ll also post some guest blogs from clients and nurses. Join me in the conversation.

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