During National Nurses Week earlier this month, the American Red Cross joined in the celebration, honoring the important contributions of the nation’s volunteer nurses. ADVERTISING During National Nurses Week earlier this month, the American Red Cross joined in the celebration,
During National Nurses Week earlier this month, the American Red Cross joined in the celebration, honoring the important contributions of the nation’s volunteer nurses.
“Volunteer nurses are leaders in delivering care through the American Red Cross,” said Coralie Matayoshi, CEO of Hawaii Red Cross. “We are grateful for their dedication and leadership.
“At the Hawaii Red Cross, local nurses serve in several different capacities. Volunteer Red Cross nurses provide health assessments to our disaster relief clients, which may include helping them to secure lost medication, medical devices, or other necessities like glasses or dentures,” Matayoshi said.
“They provide this assistance by working closely with physicians to generate emergency prescriptions or working with insurance companies and pharmacies to find ways to reduce the cost of the ordered mediation or medical device and provide financial assistance when needed.”
Local volunteer Red Cross nurses also help clients in shelters manage their medications and remind them when they need to take care of their personal medical needs.
They assist those who cannot adequately take care of themselves, for example, elderly or disabled clients, with their activities of daily living during their stay in a shelter and try to connect them with long-term referrals for their transition out of the shelter.
In addition to shelters, these types of services are performed through community outreach visits, at disaster assistance centers or by paying a home visit to someone who cannot easily get out and about.
In addition, Red Cross nurse volunteers are also a key cornerstone for our Integrated Care Teams who visit families that lost a loved one and help them with their recovery from this event and also collect critical data from the family for CDC records regarding mortality due to disaster.
Nurses are encouraged to volunteer not only in the disaster area but also to teach first aid/CPR, serve on our First Aid station teams or at Tripler Army Medical Center.
For more information about local opportunities or to register as a volunteer, visit redcross.org/hawaii.
