american red cross

The American Red Cross (chartered as the American National Red Cross) is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States, as part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Today, in addition to domestic disaster relief, the American Red Cross offers compassionate services in five other areas: community services that help the needy; support and comfort for military members and their families; the collection, processing and distribution of lifesaving blood and blood products; educational programs that promote health and safety; and international relief and development programs.

Governed by volunteers and supported by community donations, the American Red Cross is a nationwide network of more than 800 chapters and Blood Services regions dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. More than a million Red Cross volunteers and 30,000 employees annually mobilize relief to families affected by more than 67,000 disasters, train almost 12 million people in lifesaving skills and exchange more than a million emergency messages for U.S. military service personnel and their families. The Red Cross is also 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.

The American Red Cross is headquartered in Washington, D.C.. Jack McGuire serves as interim president following the resignation of Rear Admiral Marsha J. Evans (USN, ret.), in December, 2005. [1]

Founders

The American Red Cross was established on May 21, 1881 by Clara Barton, who became the first president of the organization. Barton first organized a meeting on May 12 of that year at the home of Sen. Omar D. Conger (R, MI) [2]. Fifteen were present at this first meeting, including Barton, Conger, and Rep. William Lawrence (R, OH) (who became the first vice-president [3],[4]).

Jane Delano (1862-1919) was the founder of the American Red Cross Nursing Service.

Clara Barton

Clara Barton (1821-1912) had already had a career as a teacher and federal bureaucrat when the American Civil War broke out. (She started teaching around the age of 15 or 16.) After working tirelessly on humanitarian work during and after the conflict, on advice of her doctors, in 1869, she went to Europe for a restful vacation. There, she saw and became involved in the work of the International Red Cross during the Franco-Prussian War, and determined to bring the organization home with her to America.

When Clara Barton began the organizing work in the U.S. in 1873, no one thought the country would ever again face an experience like the Civil War. However, Barton was not one to lose hope in the face of the bureaucracy, and she finally succeeded during the administration of President Chester A. Arthur on the basis that the new American Red Cross organization could also be available to respond to other types of crisis.

As Barton expanded the original concept of the Red Cross to include assisting in any great national disaster, this service brought the United States the "Good Samaritan of Nations" label in the International Red Cross. Barton naturally became President of the American branch of the society, known officially as the American National Red Cross. John D. Rockefeller gave money to create a national headquarters in Washington, DC, located one block from the White House.

Clara Barton led one of the group's first major relief efforts, a response to the Great Fire of 1881 (Thumb Fire) in the Thumb region of Michigan, which occurred on Sept 4-6, 1881. Over 5000 were left homeless. The next major disaster dealt with was the Johnstown Flood which occurred on May 31, 1889. Over 2,209 people died and thousands more were injured in or near Johnstown, Pennsylvania in one of the worst disasters in United States history. She resigned from the American Red Cross in 1904.

Services

Blood

The American Red Cross supplies roughly 44% of the donated blood in the United States. Independent community-based blood centers supply 50% and 6% is collected directly by hospitals. In December of 2004, the American Red Cross completed their largest blood processing facility in the United States in Pomona, California on the campus grounds of the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. The Red Cross has had several controversies surrounding their blood program in which the center mishandled donated blood.

Tissue services

For more than twenty years, the American Red Cross provided allograft tissue for transplant through its Tissue Services Program. It cared for thousands of donor families who gave the gift of tissue donation and helped more than 1 million transplant recipients in need of this life saving or life-enhancing gift of tissue. At the end of January 2005, the American Red Cross ended its Tissue Services program in order to focus on its primary missions of Disaster Relief and Blood Services.

Plasma services

A leader in the plasma industry, the Red Cross provides more than one quarter of the nation's plasma products. Red Cross Plasma Services seeks to provide the American people with plasma products which are not only reliable and cost-effective, but also as safe as possible.

In February 1999, the Red Cross completed its "Transformation," a $287 million program that: re-engineered Red Cross Blood Services' processing, testing and distribution system; and established a new management structure.

Nucleic Acid Testing

On March 1, 1999, the American Red Cross became the first U.S. blood banking organization to implement a Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) study. This process is different from traditional testing because it looks for the genetic material of HIV and hepatitis C (HCV), rather than the body's response to the disease.

The NAT tests for HIV and HCV have been licensed by the Food and Drug Administration. These tests are able to detect the genetic material of a transfusion-transmitted virus like HIV without waiting for the body to form antibodies, potentially offering an important time advantage over current techniques.

Leukoreduction

A person's own leukocytes (white blood cells) help fight off foreign substances such as bacteria, viruses and abnormal cells, to avoid sickness or disease. But when transfused to another person, these same leukocytes do not benefit the recipient. In fact, these foreign leukocytes in transfused red blood cells and platelets are often not well tolerated and have been associated with some types of transfusion complications.

The Red Cross is moving toward system-wide universal prestorage leukocyte reduction to improve patient care.

Research

The Red Cross operates the Jerome H. Holland Laboratory, based in Rockville, Maryland. Each year, the Red Cross invests more than $25 million in research activities at the Holland Laboratory and in the field.

Cellular therapies

One technique the Red Cross has identified strong potential for treating people in new ways is through cellular therapies. This new method of treatment involves collecting and treating blood cells from a patient or other blood donor. The treated cells are then introduced into a patient to help revive normal cell function; replace cells that are lost as a result of disease, accidents or aging; or used to prevent illnesses from appearing.

Cellular therapy may prove to be particularly helpful for patients who are being treated for illnesses such as cancer, where the treated cells may help battle cancerous cells.

Court ordered consent decree

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took court action against the American Red Cross in response to deficiencies in their tracking and procedures for ensuring the safety of the blood supply. The consent decree outlines some of the violations of federal law that the American Red Cross engaged in before 1993. Fines were imposed in the millions of dollars. Follow this link [5] for the April 2003 letter from the FDA detailing Red Cross violations.

In response to the decree, Red Cross Biomedical Services now has: a standardized computer system that efficiently maintains the blood donor database; a network of eight, state-of-the-art National Testing Laboratories (NTLs) that test about 6 million units of blood collected by the Red Cross's 36 blood regions; the Charles Drew Biomedical Institute, which allows for the Red Cross to provide training and other educational resources to Red Cross Blood Services' personnel; a highly qualified Quality Assurance/Regulatory Affairs Department, which helps to ensure compliance with FDA regulations in every Red Cross Blood Services region; and, a centrally managed blood inventory system to ensure the consistent availability of blood and blood components in every Red Cross Blood Services region throughout the country.

In an agreement with the American Red Cross the Consent Decree was amended in 2003 with penalties for specific violations.

The FDA can impose penalties after April 2003 up to the following maximum amounts:

• $10,000 per event (and $10,000 per day) for any violation of an ARC standard operating procedure (SOP), the law, or consent decree requirement and timeline
• $50,000 for preventable release of each unit of blood for which FDA determines that there is a reasonable probability that the product may cause serious adverse health consequences or death
  • $5,000 for the release of each unit that may cause temporary problems, up to a maximum of $500,000 per event
• $50,000 for the improper re-release of each unsuitable blood unit that was returned to ARC inventory
• $10,000 for each donor inappropriately omitted from the National Donor Deferral Registry, a list of all unsuitable donors

Red Cross Health and Safety services

The American Red Cross has become a household name for providing first aid, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Automated external defibrillator (AED), water safety and lifeguarding training throughout the United States. The training programs are primarily aimed at laypersons, workplaces, and aquatic facilities. Annually, the American Red Cross teaches around 12 million Americans these skills, ranging from youth to professional rescuers. In 2005, the American Red Cross co-lead the 2005 Guidelines for First Aid, which aims to provide up-to-date and peer-reviewed first aid training material. Many American Red Cross chapters also sell first aid kits and other related equipment.

Disaster services

Each year, the American Red Cross responds immediately to more than 67,000 disasters, including house or apartment fires (the majority of disaster responses), hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hazardous materials spills, transportation accidents, explosions, and other natural and man-made disasters.

Although the American Red Cross is not a government agency, its authority to provide disaster relief was formalized when, in 1905, the Red Cross was chartered by Congress to "carry on a system of national and international relief in time of peace and apply the same in mitigating the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods, and other great national calamities, and to devise and carry on measures for preventing the same." The Charter is not only a grant of power, but also an imposition of duties and obligations to the nation, to disaster victims, and to the people who support its work with their donations.

American Red Cross disaster relief focuses on meeting people's immediate emergency disaster-caused needs. When a disaster threatens or strikes, the Red Cross provides shelter, food, and health and mental health services to address basic human needs. In addition to these services, the core of Red Cross disaster relief is the assistance given to individuals and families affected by disaster to enable them to resume their normal daily activities independently.

The Red Cross also feeds emergency workers, handles inquiries from concerned family members outside the disaster area, provides blood and blood products to disaster victims, and helps those affected by disaster to access other available resources.

The American Red Cross also works hard to encourage preparedness by providing important literature on readiness. Many chapters also offer free classes to the general public.

A major misconception by the general public is that the American Red Cross provides medical facilities, engages in search and rescue operations or deploys ambulances to disaster areas. As an emergency support agency, the American Red Cross does not engage in these first responder activities; instead, these first responder roles are left to local, state or federal agencies as dictated by the National Response Plan. The confusion arises since other Red Cross societies across the globe may provide these functions; for example, the Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexican Red Cross) runs a national ambulance service. Futhermore, American Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) look similar to ambulances. These ERVs instead are designed for bulk distribution of relief supplies, such as hot meals, drinks or other relief supplies. Although American Red Cross shelters usually have a nurse assigned to the facility, they are not equipped to provide medical care beyond emergency first aid.

National Response Plan

As a National Response Plan direct service provider, the American Red Cross feeds and shelters victims of disasters. In addition to fulfilling this role, the American Red Cross is responsible for coordinating federal efforts to address mass care, housing, and human services under Emergency Support Function 6 with FEMA. The American Red Cross is the only charity to serve as a primary agency under any Emergency Support Function. The plan gives the American Red Cross responsibility for coordinating federal mass care assistance in support of state and local efforts. The American Red Cross also has responsibilities under other Emergency Support Functions, such as providing counseling services and working with the federal government to distribute ice and water. FEMA’s responsibilities include convening regular meetings with key agencies and coordinating the transition of service delivery from mass care operations to long-term recovery activities, among other responsibilities. [6]

September 11 controversy

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Red Cross, like many charitable organizations, solicited funds and blood donations for Red Cross activities for the victims of the attacks. Dr. Bernardine Healy, the president of the American Red Cross, appeared on telethons urging individuals to give generously. However, according to America's Blood Centers, the nonprofit consortium that provides the other 50% of the United States blood supply, no national blood drive was needed, since localized blood drives in the affected areas would be sufficient to meet the demand. The American Red Cross felt that the terrorist attacks were a sign of increased instability and urged people to donate blood, even though it wasn't needed at that time. In the end, some blood was destroyed unused.

Also, the American Red Cross created the Liberty Fund that was ostensibly designed for relief for victims of the terrorist attacks. However, when the fund was closed in October, after reaching the goals of donations, only 30% of the $547 million received was spent. Dr. Healy announced that the majority of the remainder of the money would be used to increase blood supply, improve telecommunications, and prepare for terror attacks in other parts of the country.

In February 2002, The New Yorker magazine reported that American Red Cross representatives were visiting upscale apartment buildings in wealthy Manhattan neighborhoods and distributing donated money (up to three months' rent or mortgage payments) to New Yorkers who had been "displaced, traumatized, or merely inconvenienced" by the terrorist attacks, without any regard to whether the recipients were actually in financial need[7].

Many donors felt that they had donated specifically to the victims of the September 11 attacks and objected to Healy's official plan for the diversion of funds. Survivors complained of the bureaucratic process involved in requesting funds and the slow delivery of the checks to meet immediate needs. Congressional hearings were called and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer investigated the Red Cross. In the end, the American Red Cross appointed former U.S. senator George Mitchell to handle distribution of the funds. Dr. Healy was forced to resign for her role in the situation, and the Red Cross pledged that all funds would go to directly benefit the victims of the September 11 attacks. [8] Healy received a severance payment of $1,569,630 [9]. In the end, out of the $961 million received, 71% went as cash assistance to those directly affected, 15% went for long term mental care and hospital care for the victims and people in the affected region, and 10% went for immediate disaster relief like shelters, food, and health care. The remaining 4% went for administration. [10]

Significant changes to Red Cross fundraising collection and policy have since been implemented after the Liberty Fund debacle. Numerous watchdog organizations, such as Charity Navigator, have since given high praise to the improved system of honoring donor's intent and minimizing administration costs.

2005 Hurricanes

The 2005 Hurricane Season proved to be the most challenging disaster response the American Red Cross had ever seen in its history. Forecasting a major disaster before the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, the organization enlisted 2,000 volunteers throughout the nation to be on a "stand by" deployment list.

During and after the Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita, the American Red Cross had opened 1,470 different shelters across and registered 3.8 million overnight stays. A total of 244,000 Red Cross workers (95% of which were non-paid volunteers) were utilized to provide sheltering, casework, communication and assessment services throughout these three hurricanes. In addition, 346,980 comfort kits (which contain hygiene essentials such as toothpaste, soap, washclothes and toys for children) and 205,360 clean up kits (containing brooms, mops and bleach) were distributed. For mass care, the organization served 68 million snacks and meals to victims of the disasters and to rescue workers. The Red Cross also had their Disaster Health services meet 596,810 contacts, and Disaster Mental Health services met 826,590 contacts. Red Cross emergency financial assistance was provided to 1.4 million families, which encompassed a total of 4 million people. Hurricane Katrina was the first natural disaster in the United States that the American Red Cross utilized their "Safe and Well" family location website. [11][12]

No other non-governmental agency has provided such a significant amount of assistance to the victims of the Hurricane Season of 2005.

On February 3rd 2006, 5 months after Katrina's landfall, the American Red Cross announced that it had met its fundraising goals, and would no longer engage in new 2005 Hurricane relief fundraising. The National organization urged the public to help other charities engaged in hurricane relief work, or to donate to their local Red Cross chapters. An American Red Cross statement was issued saying that 91 cents of every dollar donated specifically for the Hurricane Katrina disaster will go directly to disaster relief. This overhead is considered low for such a large organization.

Hurricane Katrina controversy

In March 2006, investigations of allegations of fraud and theft by volunteers within the American Red Cross Katrina operations were launched by the Louisiana Attorney-General and the FBI [13] [14]. In April 2006, an unnamed former American Red Cross official leaked reports made by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the British Red Cross. These reports were particularly critical of American Red Cross operations in Hurricane Katrina affected regions. [15] In response to the release of this information, the American Red Cross responded by noting that the actual reports "...has [nothing] to do with fraud, waste or abuse. The observations, while acknowledging that resources did get to victims, focused more on the how and what got to disaster victims, and with the systems and procedures [the Red Cross] had in place to get materials into the hands of people who needed them most." In fact, although the report highlighted many logistical issues, both the International Committee of the Red Cross and the British Red Cross praised the volunteer effort, with the British report noting, "The [American Red Cross] volunteer base in this operation is one of the best, if not the best any of us have experienced in a combined total of over 65 years international disaster relief. The volunteers are extra-ordinarily committed, motivated, compassionate and welcoming."

Other Disaster Responses

Comair Air Crash

In response to the crash of commuter aircraft Comair Flight 5191, the American Red Cross Critical Response Team (CRT) members were dispatched to the scene. This was the worst air disaster within the United States since American Airlines Flight 587. Family and Friends reception centers were established near the arrival and departure airports and in Cincinnati, site of the Comair headquarters. Local chapters in Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and California provided health, mental health and spiritual services to family members and friends of the victims. Volunteers also staffed the local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Lexington, the incident command post at the airport site and the State EOC. As of August 29th 2006, 400 meals had been served by the American Red Cross to family and friends of those involved in the crash, in addition to rescuer workers. [16]

International services

The American Red Cross is involved with many international projects, such as the African Measles Initiative and the relief effort for the 2004 South Asia Tsunami disaster.

The Measles Initiative is a co-ordinated campaign with the US Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and other public health groups, and aims to reduce measles deaths to zero in Africa. The campaign has achieved remarkable successes, in part due to the partnership with local governments and vaccine producers which allow USD$ 1 to provide one child's measles vaccination. The program has been credited in reducing measles mortality and morbidity in the region, as well as boosting infrastructure for other vaccination and public health programs such as malaria prevention. The program has since been used in areas affected by the 2004 Asian Tsunami disaster.

The American Red Cross has a depot of pre-positioned emergency relief supplies in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, which was used to respond to the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster, as well as the 2005 Pakistan/South Asia Earthquakes.

The American Red Cross handles international tracing requests and searches for families who have been separated by war or disaster and are trying to locate relatives worldwide. This is not a genealogical service but one that attempts to establish contact between family members who knew each other at the time of the war related separation. Tracing services also provide the exchange of hand written Red Cross Messages between individuals and their relatives who may be refugees or prisoners of war. At any given time the American Red Cross tracing program is handling the aftermath of 20-30 wars, conflicts, etc. When new information from many former Soviet Union archives became available in 1990s, a special unit was created to handle World War II/Holocaust tracing services (See International Tracing Service). The world-wide structure of national Red Cross, Red Crescent societies, the Magen David Adom of Israel and the International Committee of the Red Cross make this service possible.

Armed Forces Emergency Services

Although not a government agency, the American Red Cross provides important services to the United States military. The most notable service is emergency family communications, where families can contact the Red Cross to send important family messages (e.g. death in the family, or new birth). In such cases, the Red Cross can also act as a verifying agency of the situation. The American Red Cross works closely with other military societies, such as the Veteran's Administration, to provide other services to soldiers and their families. The American Red Cross is not involved with prisoners of war; rather, these are monitored by the International Committee of the Red Cross, an international rather than national body.

A persistent comment by many veterans of World War II is their memory of the American Red Cross selling "comfort items" such as toothpaste and cigarettes to the troops. The American Red Cross acknowledges that they did indeed sell such items, and the unfortunate repercussions have marred the agency's name for many years. In response to such allegations, the American Red Cross responds with these facts, indicating that the organization did not initially want to charge for such products[17]:

• At the request of the Secretary of War, the American Red Cross charged a nominal fee for coffee and doughnuts, as well as for lodging, barber and valet services, in stationary military installations overseas. It did not charge in mobile facilities such as Clubmobiles.

• This request was made because other agencies working overseas were compelled to charge for similar items. Giving these items free to U.S. service members would, it was feared, demoralize Allied troops.

• The official War Department recommendation was made in a letter dated May 20, 1942, written by Mr. Stimson, Secretary of War, and addressed to the Chairman of The American National Red Cross.

Clara Barton National Historic Site

In 1975, Clara Barton National Historic Site was established as a unit of the National Park Service at her Glen Echo, Maryland home near Washington, D.C. The first National Historic Site dedicated to the accomplishments of a woman, it preserves the early history of the American Red Cross and the last home of its founder. Clara Barton spent the last 15 years of her life in her Glen Echo home, and it served as an early headquarters of the American Red Cross as well.

The National Park Service has restored eleven rooms, including the Red Cross offices, parlors and Miss Barton's bedroom. Visitors to Clara Barton National Historic Site can gain a sense of how Miss Barton lived and worked surrounded by all that went into her life's work. Visitors to the site are led through the three levels on a guided tour emphasizing Miss Barton's use of her unusual home, and come to appreciate the site in the same way visitors did in Clara Barton's lifetime. [18]

Further reading

• Foster Rhea Dulles American Red Cross (Harper & Brothers, 1950)

See also

• Red Cross
• First aid
• CPR
• List of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
• Johnstown Flood

External links

• Official website
• Blood Donations
• ARC history and WWII women's uniforms in color — WWII US women's service organizations (ARC, WAC, WAVES, ANC, NNC, USMCWR, PHS, SPARS and WASP)]