The Red Cross celebrates National Nurses Week along with the rest of the nation. During this week, the Red Cross recognizes the vital contributions of nurses, including those who volunteer, work in disaster relief, or support the Red Cross’s mission.

During this celebration we would like to introduce you to the American Red Cross Licensed Vocational Nurse Susan Wessman. In 2016, Susan deployed to North Carolina for Hurricane Michael as her a first time nurse for the Red Cross. Upon arriving at headquarters in North Carolina, she was surrounded by nearly a dozen new registered nurses – most had just graduated (GN), and they had not obtained their licenses yet but still felt the need to deployed to help anywhere they were needed.  As it turned out, Susan was the only experienced nurse who had deployed and immediately became the lead nurse.

Her initial assignment as lead LVN was to be a rover in attempts of finding as many shelters as possible given the amount of damage we witnessed.

“I was fortunate to have a brand-new registered nurse who had just a week prior received her RN license,” said Susan. “Volunteers always go out in pairs for safety reasons.”

Their job was to check on survivors and volunteers alike to do assessments, as well as call pharmacies that were open to have medications refilled.  Many survivors had lost all their medications and durable medical equipment, as well as glasses.  Many were diabetics without insulin and no way to check their glucose levels.

“We were able to resolve that quickly with a simple phone call that no other volunteer without a license was allowed to do,” said Susan.  “That’s how important your volunteering for the American Red Cross is!  With your license, you have power to help survivors where no one else can.”

While volunteering at a shelter, Susan was able to help save a life. A male diabetic suffering from a severe hypoglycemic episode was treated and his life was saved.  He was going to go lie down because of a bad headache; instead, after finding out why he had the headache, he was given glucose tabs and other food to bring his sugar levels up.  His sugars were very low. If he would have just laid down, he might not have awakened back up.  If the nurses had not been there to notice the difference, he could have died from a diabetic coma. 

“We made a difference!  So can you!,” said Susan.

The American Red Cross relies on thousands of nurses and other health professionals each day. These volunteers and employees bring relief to disaster victims, work in military hospitals, and collect lifesaving blood. They develop and teach courses ranging from disaster preparedness to addressing health equity through the social determinants of health. Red Cross health professional volunteers serve in direct care roles, management, supervisory and governing roles throughout our organization.

If you have ever thought about volunteering for the American Red Cross, just know that we need you! The Red Cross is always looking for Registered Nurses (RN) and Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) to help save lives. Please sign up today at redcross.org/volunteer

Story By: Susan Wessman