American Red Cross Nurses Honored

American Red Cross
Thursday, 16 October 2003

American Red Cross nurses Donna Dorsey, M.S., R.N., and United States Air Force Captain Cynthia Jones Weidman, BSN, MEd, MS, CEN will receive the Florence Nightingale Medal—the profession's highest honor—on Monday, October 20 from 3:00-3:30 p.m. ET at Red Cross national headquarters in Washington, D.C. Red Cross President and CEO Marsha "Marty" Evans will be on hand to present the award.

"The American Red Cross has always helped people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies and nurses have been an integral part of that mission right from the beginning," said Nancy McKelvey, chief nurse of the American Red Cross. "That mission is vital, now more than ever. It is a pleasure to join our colleagues in paying tribute to two exceptional nurses who epitomize the best in all they do, and who are striving to make sure their communities and their colleagues are prepared."

Every two years since 1920, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal to nurses and volunteer aides worldwide who have demonstrated exceptional courage to the wounded, sick or disabled or to civilian victims of a conflict of disaster in times of war or peace. With the additional threat posed by man-made disasters, the Red Cross movement continues to explore new arenas in the global disaster preparedness and response effort with volunteers like Donna Dorsey and Cynthia Weidman paving the way.

Donna Dorsey

Promoting disaster nursing is a major focus for Donna Dorsey, a 28-year American Red Cross volunteer. She has traveled throughout the state of Maryland, teaching disaster health courses and training hundreds of nurses to become Red Cross disaster volunteers, including public health nurses. A major concern in the state has been the ability to mobilize health professionals in the case of a terrorism event. Dorsey took the lead in developing resources by creating and implementing a plan to recruit and train a core of volunteer nurses to provide acute care, immunization and sheltering. Thus far 2,300 nurses have volunteered and the plan was replicated with pharmacists and physicians. Dorsey is the current President of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and has been the Executive Director for the Maryland State Board of Nursing since 1981. She serves on the board of the Central Maryland Chapter of the American Red Cross and has been selected as the next board chair.

Cynthia Weidman

As a captain in the USAF nurse corps and a dedicated American Red Cross volunteer, Cynthia Weidman has responded to conflicts, disasters, and ongoing public health needs of communities worldwide. While medical planner for the US Support Group in East Timor, she was directly responsible for the development, implementation, and execution of the civic action programs for the delivery of medical care. She also assisted with the evacuation of burn victims after the bombing of a Bali nightclub in November 2002, providing lifesaving treatment to critically burned patients during air transport. During her assignment at Kadena AFB in Okinawa, she regularly volunteered over 50 hours each month providing health and safety instruction, organizing blood drives, and working to improve community health. She is currently assigned to Scott AFB in Illinois awaiting her next deployment.

Governed by volunteers and supported by community donations, the American Red Cross is a nationwide network of nearly 1,000 chapters and Blood Services regions dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Led by 1.2 million volunteers and 30,000 employees, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to families affected by more than 67,000 disasters, trains almost 12 million people in lifesaving skills and exchanges more than a million emergency messages for U.S. military service personnel and their families. The Red Cross is the largest supplier of blood and blood products to more than 3,000 hospitals across the nation and also assists victims of international disasters and conflicts at locations worldwide.

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