A Life of Service—The Jane Delano Story

by Suzanne Wiley, volunteer contributor
 
Before the successes of Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, there were hundreds of women who broke the glass ceiling before the concept existed. Though these women were changing the world, at the time, their accomplishments and stories were not as diligently reported as many of America’s greatest men. With the help of Women’s History Month, now in its 35th year, we bring these courageous, smart and determined women’s tales back to life, rewriting history when the text books have left so many of these women’s names out. We weave these women’s stories because they are the fabric foundation of women’s stories today.

One of these notable women is Jane Delano—one of the most famous nurses in history. Jane accomplished a lot throughout her professional career as a nurse, taking on multiple roles at once, however, her most significant achievement started out with a little white lie.
Jane Delano signed up for the Army Nurse Corps, but because she was older than the 45 year old age limit to join, she left her age off the application. And good thing, too, as Jane is credited with saving the failing Army Nurse Corps program. Through her idea of marrying the Army Nurse Corps with the American Red Cross Nursing Service and the American Nurses Association, Jane recruited 8,000 nurses ready to deploy and serve before the United States entered World War I. Her joint program enlisted and trained over 20,000 nurses who served during the war. Because of Jane’s dedication to service, she paved the way for the over 370,000 nurses who have volunteered for the American Red Cross.

Born in 1862 in Montour Falls, New York, Jane started her professional life teaching school before she felt the calling to become a nurse. At 24, she finished nurse training at America’s oldest, continuously operating hospital’s nurse training school, Bellevue in New York City. Bellevue Training School was the first in the United States to adopt and teach Florence Nightingale’s principal teachings. At the time, nursing was still young in establishing standards and being recognized as a profession.

After graduating from Bellevue, she took the position of superintendent of nurses at Sandhills Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida during a yellow fever epidemic. It is at Sandhills where Jane’s legacy begins. At the time, it was only a theory that some scientists believed that yellow fever was spread through mosquitoes. While at Sandhills, Jane hung screens and mosquito nets around the patients’ areas and nurses’ sleeping quarters.

Jane joined the Red Cross in 1898 during the Spanish-American War working as secretary for the enrollment of nurses. Before deciding to join the Red Cross full time in 1912, Jane was
•    Superintendent of nurses at University Hospital in Philadelphia
•    Superintendent at the House of Refuge
•    Superintendent of the Training School at Bellevue Hospital
•    President of the Associated Alumnae
•    President of the Board of Directors of the American Journal of Nursing
•    Chairmanship of the American Red Cross Nursing Service
•    Superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps
•    Worked for the Surgeon General

About her decision, Jane said, “I would rather live on a crust and serve the Red Cross than do anything else in the world.”

After the war, Jane traveled to France to visit her enlisted nurses. She was sick from chronic mastoiditis—an infection of the mastoid bone in the skull originating from a middle ear infection. Jane Delano passed away on April 15, 1919 and was buried in the military cemetery in Savenay, France. Nearly a year later, her body was exhumed and returned to the United States to be buried in the nurses’ plot in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. She was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. 500 people attended her funeral. It is said that Jane’s last words were, “I must get back to work.”

The Red Cross is synonymous with nursing and much of the humanitarian organization’s history is founded on nursing services. Jane’s memory is honored through the Jane Delano Student Nurse Scholarship.

If you are a nurse and wish to volunteer with the Red Cross, please visit the volunteer nurses’ page.

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Celebrating Women’s History Month: The Red Cross for the Every Woman

by Lilly Watson, Communications Manager, American Red Cross

During WWI & II, the Red Cross featured
women in their iconic advertising posters.

During Women’s History Month, it is typical to think about famous women who will go down in history, and we certainly have no shortage of them here at the Red Cross. Our founder, Clara Barton, was a feminist far ahead of her time. Jane Delano was the founder of the American Red Cross Nursing Service and pioneered the modern nursing profession. Here in Texas, activist and First Lady of the United States, Lady Bird Johnson, chaired the Senate Wives Red Cross Unit and wrapped bandages and sewed items for hospitalized veterans. She earned the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the American Red Cross Central Texas Chapter in 2007. 

Women have served for the
Red Cross long before society
deemed it appropriate. 

The true testament to the Red Cross’ place in women’s history, though, is how it allows every woman to find a place to serve and find personal purpose and fulfillment, and has done so long before society deemed it appropriate. Before women had the right to vote, Clara Barton brought them on the battlefield during the Civil War. 

When American men went off to fight in World War I and II, the American Red Cross recognized the women behind the effort by making them the forefront of its advertising campaigns. These iconic posters are still used today to show the Red Cross’ history of inclusion and support to those in crisis. Without them, we might easily forget the great contributions of women to the war effort during a time that they were not able to deploy to battle themselves. 

Women serving food and drinks
to the troops from the Red Cross
Clubmobile during WWII.

During World War II, women served through the Red Cross at home and abroad through the Red Cross Club, working in hospitals and traveling in trucks to serve cookies and donuts to those fighting in battle. 

Today, the Red Cross continues to be a place where people of all backgrounds can come together to serve those facing disaster, in our country and abroad. We’re proud to commemorate the women who have proudly served others through the American Red Cross for more than a century during Women’s History Month!

To start your story as a Red Cross volunteer, visit redcross.org.

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Celebrating Women's History Month: Jane Delano

Written by Catherine Carlton l Volunteer Contributor

The image of the Red Cross nurse has been part of our Red Cross brand, imagery and history for more than 100 years. That image, along with the inclusion of nurses considered as medical professionals, is with us today thanks to Jane Delano.

As part of Women's History Month, we are celebrating Jane (1862 - 1919) who founded the American Red Cross Nursing Service.

After a brief period of teaching, Delano enrolled in the Bellevue Training School for Nurses and graduated in 1886. Delano's first opportunity to perform public service nursing came in 1888, when she served as superintendent of a Jacksonville, Florida hospital treating victims of a yellow fever epidemic. Her superior executive and administrative skills quickly became evident, as she developed innovative nursing procedures for the patients under her care. Jacksonville is also where she realized the great need for providing health education and social services to rural communities.
From there Jane's career with the Red Cross continued to expand: During the Spanish-American War in 1898, she began her association with the American Red Cross by becoming a member of the New York Chapter where she served as the secretary for the enrollment of nurses. She worked hard to dignify the position of nurses in the medical community. Up to that time, nurses were not recognized as full members of the medical profession.

A woman of incredible energy, Delano served as superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps from 1909-1912 and chairman of the new National Committee on Red Cross Nursing Service and created the plan for the first volunteer nursing unit of the American Red Cross. She also served as president of the American Nurses' Association and chairman of the board of directors of the American Journal of Nursing. In 1912, Delano resigned from the Army Nurse Corps to volunteer full time with the Red Cross, focusing on recruiting more nurses.
Henry P. Davison, a leader of the American Red Cross during World War I, praised the contributions Jane Delano made to the nursing profession at the time of her death: "The value of what she did for our cause can never be measured. Appreciation of her individual services will grow as the knowledge of the work done by nurses during the world war becomes better known to the world. She was beloved by all who knew her. I am sure it can be said of Miss Delano that her thought from beginning to end was never for herself, but for the service of humanity."

To learn more about Red Cross nursing, visit redcross.org.

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