Whether tending to a soldier injured in war, a hurricane victim forced away from home or a homeowner devastated by fire, American Red Cross nurses have provided a century's worth of care and compassion.

In 1909, a nurse named Jane A. Delano established the Red Cross Nursing Service, an effort that has spanned several wars and many disasters. During World War I, 25,000 Red Cross nurses served with the Army and Navy Nurse Corps. In World War II, the number rose to 77,800. Today, 30,000 American Red Cross nurses continue serving their communities and states in less-than-traditional ways - caring for people in the wake of a disaster, meeting their needs when and where the worst has happened.

In Oklahoma, Red Cross nurses have helped at both man-made and natural disasters, in overnight shelters and in the midst of an emergency. Kay Farrell, longtime Red Cross nurse, said the nurse's creed guides the way: "Wherever disaster calls there I shall go. I ask not for whom, but only where I am needed."

Farrell, now professor emeritus for the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing, said she got involved with the Red Cross in 1980, when a friend took her to help at a shelter opened during a flood in Kingfisher. Since then, she's responded to a multitude of state and national disasters and helped staff the national nurse's desk in Washington, D.C.

People affected by disasters can suffer from a variety of big and small problems, she said. The Red Cross nurse's response is to treat not only the medical needs but anything else affecting a person's road to recovery.

"Red Cross nurses try to restore a person back to a normal life as much as possible," Farrell said. "We address their immediate physical needs and their ongoing needs, but we also look at people holistically and perform case management. We are resources for what people need."

When disaster strikes, people may suffer from injuries they've received, as well as medical needs that were pressing before the emergency occurred. Janet Gallegly, the state nurse liaison for the Red Cross in Oklahoma, said that was apparent when Gulf Coast evacuees came to the state after Hurricane Katrina.

"Some people had undergone surgery right before the hurricane and needed stitches out. Others had just received a phone call that something was detected on their mammogram. Others needed to replace medications that they relied on," Gallegly said. "People come in all sorts of situations.

"We also help when the Red Cross opens a shelter - making sure sanitary conditions are there and limiting potential disease transmission of colds, the flu and other concerns."

In many cases, the Red Cross in Oklahoma partners with other state and community agencies, including health departments and the Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps, especially when larger disasters strike.

Red Cross nurses also provide medical support to volunteers deployed to national disasters, taking into consideration any underlying medical issues and how that might affect a person at a scene where air quality may be compromised or health care might be less readily available.

"It's a very important role because we want our volunteers to be healthy and ready to serve," Farrell said. "It's also a great way for Red Cross nurses to volunteer if they're not available to go to a disaster or shelter."

Student nurses at colleges and universities in central Oklahoma volunteer with the Red Cross in Oklahoma City, helping at community events, health fairs and at disaster scenes. The Red Cross Disaster Health Service Response class is taught in area nursing schools, giving student nurses the training and outlet to serve their communities.

American Red Cross chapters in Oklahoma always need more nurse volunteers. For more information about volunteer opportunities and training, call the Central Oklahoma Red Cross at (405) 228-9500.

Kay Farrell: Changing lives as Red Cross nurse

In her nearly 30 years of volunteer work with the American Red Cross Nursing Service, Kay Farrell has seen the same wonder time after time: people devastated by disaster beginning to reclaim their hope for life.

Farrell, professor emeritus for the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing, has tended to people's health needs at disasters both at home and around the nation. As a Red Cross nurse, she volunteers her time to help people when they need it most.

For her work, Farrell has received two of the highest honors bestowed upon a Red Cross nurse: the Florence Nightingale Medal, awarded to only 50 people across the world every two years, and the Ann Magnussen Nursing Award.

And for all her years of dedication to Red Cross nursing, Farrell said she's received far more than she's given.

"You get so much from the Red Cross than you ever put in," Farrell said. "It restores your faith in mankind."

Farrell said she has learned that lesson time and again, but remembers one scenario that especially illustrated her calling as a Red Cross volunteer. It was during the Oklahoma City sheltering of hurricane evacuees, when large numbers of volunteers were needed to help people who were devastated both physically and emotionally.

"I was helping an older lady, and after I had taken care of her immediate physical needs, I asked her, ‘Is there anything else I can help with? You look so concerned,'" Farrell said.

"The lady said, ‘It's this,' and she pulled off her knitted cap to show that she was suffering hair loss. Her wig had been washed away during the hurricane.

"One of the members of our Red Cross mental health team was a minister at a local church that wanted to help. I talked to him and explained the situation. Soon, five ladies from the church came and swept her up, took her shopping and bought her wigs and clothes.

"Later, she told me, ‘You didn't just find me a new wig. You gave me my life back again.'"