American Red Cross Nurses Receive Profession's Highest Honor

American Red Cross
Friday, 25 January 2002

Florence Nightingale Medal Presented to Three Who Supported Response to Terrorist Attacks

American Red Cross Nurses Phyllis Janocha, B.S.N., R.N., Judith Lee, B.S., R.N., and Linda A. Spencer, Ph.D., R.N., will receive the Award of the Florence Nightingale Medal on Monday, January 28 at Red Cross national headquarters in Washington, D.C. Named for the famous Crimean War nurse and presented every two years by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the award honors nurses and volunteer aides who have demonstrated exceptional courage and devotion to the sick, wounded and disabled in times of war or peace. The award was first presented in 1920 and this year's recipients join 44 past U.S. honorees in receiving the profession's highest international honor.

"Nursing has always been an integral part of the American Red Cross," said Nancy McKelvey, chief nurse of the American Red Cross. "Red Cross nurses provide invaluable assistance in times of disaster, especially after the tragic events of September 11. We are proud that three of our best are being recognized for their selfless and dedicated service to the organization."

Phyllis Janocha is a 20 year Red Cross nurse volunteer. Currently a disaster officer, Mrs. Janocha has served on over 40 national Red Cross relief operations, including the September 11 terrorist attacks. She directed the health service response to the United Airlines flight 93 crash in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. In addition, she is a member of the Red Cross Aviation Incident Response (AIR) team, a specially trained group that responds to aviation disasters. When not deployed to respond disasters, Mrs. Janocha teaches Health and Safety and Disaster classes at the Red Cross chapter in Beaver County, Pennsylvania and chairs the area Disaster Institute.

Judith Lee, has helped victims of disaster for more than 40 years as a Red Cross nurse. She also has played a major role in the development and expansion of American Red Cross disaster preparedness and response. She helped to facilitate the integration of nurses into Red Cross Disaster and International Services and promoted the initiation of new programs. Mrs. Lee has been a strong advocate for ensuring that the mental health needs of both victims and responders are addressed as part of Red Cross disaster response, now a key component. Most recently, she helped to manage and coordinate Red Cross disaster services in New York City after attack on the World Trade Center.

Dr. Linda Spencer is a volunteer for the Red Cross chapter in Metropolitan Atlanta. During the response to the recent terrorist attacks, she helped train hundreds of nurses throughout the state. In a collaborative program between the American Red Cross and its sister society in Russia, she directed a program for training home health nurses and is currently featured in the nation's nursing honor society magazine, Reflections. Dr. Spencer has worked in Nigeria, Liberia, Zambia, Ivory Coast and Kenya teaching health promotion and disease prevention. As an U. S. Army Reserve officer, she is helping to establish humanitarian assistance training for medical professionals at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. And in her current role as Associate Professor, Dr. Spencer is helping to develop the next generation of nursing leaders at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University.

The American Red Cross is dedicated to saving lives, easing suffering and restoring hope at home and around the world. Currently operating on a budget of $3 billion, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to the victims of more than 67,000 disasters nationwide and has been the primary supplier of lifesaving blood and blood products in the United States for more than 50 years. In 2000, the Red Cross also trained almost 12 million people in vital lifesaving skills, provided direct health services to nearly 2.6 million people and delivered more than 21 million locally relevant community services. The organization also assisted international disaster and conflict victims in close to 40 locations around the globe and its emergency communication centers processed 1.2 million calls in support of U.S. military families.

For more information, or to contact American Red Cross, see their website at: www.redcross.org