The history of the Red Cross and the role of nurses in early medicine
A Celmar Dengage Learning online reference, "Nursing fundamentals: Caring & clinical decision making," says that prior to the Middle Ages, nursing care was something provided in the home by family members. After that, care might be provided by male attendants. By the 19th century, "Catholic nuns and Protestant deaconesses served as nurses in Europe and the United States." With a vast array of nursing programs available today to men and women both, it's remarkable how far the field has come.
It wasn't until Florence Nightingale established a nursing school at St. Thomas' Hospital in London in 1860 that nursing became established "as a unique body of knowledge, distinct from medicine." Nursing initially was seen "as a service rather than a profession" and as "a woman's occupation that offered little power and poor pay."
The Red Cross and the humanitarian movement
Nursing has provided much of the impetus of the humanitarian movement. The Greater Lehigh Valley chapter of the American Red Cross explains that Henry Dunant's 1862 book, "A Memory of Solferino," in which he recounted the horrors of witnessing 40,000 troops killed or wounded in battle, led not only to the formation that year of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) but also in 1864 to the first Geneva Convention.
According to the American Red Cross Museum in an article titled "A brief history of the American Red Cross," Clara Barton, returning from a post-Civil War visit to Europe, "founded the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 1881" (although World Red Cross Day is celebrated on May 8). In addition to campaigning for an American Red Cross society, however, she also called for American ratification of the Geneva Convention, which occurred in 1882.
Beyond nursing the war-wounded
The nursing program of the ICRC initially was focused solely on the plight of those injured in war. Barton and the American Red Cross, however, extended their mission from the outset to include natural disaster relief. The American Red Cross Museum's brief biography of Barton's life explains that "the Red Cross flag was flown officially for the first time in this country in 1881 when Barton issued a public appeal for funds and clothing to aid victims of a devastating forest fire in Michigan," and the first 20 years of its existence were "devoted ... largely to disaster relief."
Indeed, under Barton's leadership, the American Red Cross successfully negotiated the "American Amendment," which provided for "inclusion of peace-time relief work as part of the International Red Cross Movement." The Congressional Charter awarded to the American Red Cross in 1900 also recognized this peace-time effort, including the provision of "national and international disaster relief and mitigation" in addition to relief for the armed forces.
Advocating for better health
Over the years the Red Cross has established a number of public health nursing programs. These have included establishing first aid and water safety courses prior the First World War (which continue to this day), staffing hospitals and ambulances, and providing veteran services, accident prevention and nutrition education. The Red Cross was responsible for the first "nationwide civilian blood program," which currently supplies almost half of all blood and blood products throughout the United States. More recently it has returned its focus to training for, providing relief immediately after, and supporting the victims of natural or man-made disasters.
