By Bill Thawley

Although Jane Delano was related to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, she made a name for herself as a nurse and a leader. She held many leadership positions during her career. Some of these were President of the Board of Directors of the American Journal of Nursing, and the first chair of the National Committee of the Red Cross Nursing Service. She also served as the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps.

In 1898, Jane became a member of the New York Chapter of the American Red Cross and served as the secretary for the enrollment of nurses. Among Jane’s accomplishments as chair of the American Red Cross Nursing Service, she created a nurse’s reserve in preparation for service with the military in wartime. She also established the Red Cross Town and Country Nursing Service. She co-wrote a textbook and created courses in elementary hygiene and home care of the sick. Starting in 1912, she worked full time for the Red Cross. Due to her active role, almost 8,000 nurses were ready to serve when the US entered WWI. She passed away in France in 1919 on a mission for the Red Cross.

A thank you to our Nurses of today, for carrying on in Jane’s memory. The Red Cross honors her memory through the Jane Delano Nursing Student Scholarship which promotes nursing as a career and encourages nurses to get involved with the Red Cross. Today nurses can earn 5.25 continuing education units for taking the basic Disaster Health Services courses.