Essay NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 2 Community Resources SC

NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 2 Community Resources SC

NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 2 Community Resources SC

NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 2 Community Resources SC

Community Resources

What comes to mind when you think of the American Red Cross? CPR, blood donation, disaster relief? Yes, these are all correct and much more. The American Red Cross (ARC) was established over 140 years ago during the time of the U.S. Civil War by Clara Barton. It was during the war where Clara earned the nickname “Angel of the Battlefield” by risking her life to nurse, comfort and cook for the wounded American soldiers. After the war Clara traveled to Europe, where she became familiar with the Geneva, Switzerland-based Red Cross, which called for international agreements to protect the sick and wounded during wartime and for the formation of national societies to give aid voluntarily neutrally, (American Red Cross, n.d.). In 1881 Clara returned home to the United States with the determination and vision for the United States of America to take part in the global Red Cross network, thus, American Red Cross was founded. 

Mission and Vision 

             Per their Mission statement, “The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors,”(American Red Cross, n.d.). Each of the ARC’s five divisions (Disaster Relief, Lifesaving Blood, Training & Certification, Military Families, and International Services) has its own vision of turning compassion in to action. The International Services comes to aid all people affected by disaster across the country and around the world to receive care, shelter and hope, (American Red Cross, n.d.). The Disaster Relief program ensures our communities are ready and prepared for disasters, (American Red Cross, n.d.). The Lifesaving Blood program’s goal is for everyone in our country has access to safe, lifesaving blood and blood products, (American Red Cross, n.d.). The Military Families program assists all members of our armed services and their families find support and comfort whenever needed(American Red Cross, n.d.). Lastly, the Training and Certification program helps ensure in an emergency, there are always trained individuals nearby, ready to use their Red Cross skills to save lives, (American Red Cross, n.d.). All of this is made possible by over 13,000 volunteer and staff comprising nurses and other healthcare professionals.

NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 2 Community Resources SC

Impact on Health and Safety Needs

Whether is a large scale disaster, a phone call to a loved one overseas , or a single house fire the American Red Cross goes the extra distance to provide comfort and or relief. According to ARC statistics, the Red Cross responds to an average of over 60,000 disasters yearly, with most of these being house fires. If you think about it, a home fire can affect anyone of us, home fires are not dependent on geographical location, nor do they know whether you own or rent you home, or whether you are black, white, or Hispanic. In 2014, the ARC launched the Home Fire Campaign, where they set a goal to goal to reduce fire-related deaths and injuries in the US by 25%, (American Red Cross, n.d.). To date, this campaign The ARC has installed 2,231,949 smoke alarms in homes across America, which in turn has made 944,856 households safer and saves over 900 lives. Although house fires do not discriminate against race age or wealth, one study conducted in Los Angeles county shed light on social vulnerability indicators and how they can assist with disaster relief preparation, (Lue & Wilson, 2017). This study used data reported by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and American Red Cross from 2006 to 2011, its focus was the mapping of fires and American Red Cross aid. The geographical context was compared with indicators of vulnerability, the results showed that fire events were found to occur more frequently in more vulnerable areas. Information from studies such as this is used to help organizations, such as the ARC, develop educational programs to positively impact the health and safety needs of a local community.

According to statistics, every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood and or platelets (Sen-Crowe et al., 2021). Blood transfusions and blood products such as platelets or plasma are an essential part of health care and often a lifesaving component. The ARC supplies our nations hospitals with about 40% the blood and blood components, all of which is collected through volunteer donations. The current Covid-19 pandemic has made the collection of blood products a challenge, 86,000 American Red Cross blood drives were canceled due to the stay at home order, (Sen-Crowe et al., 2021). Luckily during the stay at home order all elective surgeries were postponed, which helped preserve the blood supply for cancer treatment, chronic illnesses, emergency surgeries and traumatic injuries.

Not only is our country still enduring the Covid-19 pandemic we are also in the middle of hurricane season and wildfire season. According to ACR’s 2020 year end fiscal report, they spent an estimated $427.6 million dollars on disaster relief from July 0219 to June 2020, (The American Red Cross, 2020). During that timeframe our nation dealt with a multitude of disasters including: Hurricanes Barry and Dorian, earthquakes in Southern California and Puerto Rico, the Kinkade Fire, flooding after the breaking of the Michigan Dam, tornadoes and tropical storms in various states; all of which the ARC was there to provide relief and recovery support. The disaster relief funding goes to provide food/water, emergency shelter, hygiene necessities and medical care following a disaster. Most of their funding comes from generous donations from individuals, families, foundations and other companies/organizations. In certain circumstances the ARC receives federal or state funding, known as a cost recovery, for contracted services. Besides the relief services offered post disaster, in 2012 the ARC launched smartphone applications, or “apps,” to provide information on preparedness and response for a variety of natural disasters and first aid (Kirsch et al., 2016). Through these apps people can receive real time information through mobile alerts, track weather, as well as educate themselves with the disaster preparation tool kit and quizzes. 

NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 2 Community Resources SC

Equal Opportunity

In addition to the ARC’s mission and vision the organization is committed to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI). The organization has a designated team, National Diversity Advisory Council, which comprises 16 diversity-thought leaders who guide the organization to promote diversity and share best practices and information on the many diversity matters. The organization prides itself on valuing diversity of thought, backgrounds, experiences, gender identities, sexual orientation, and cultures, (American Red Cross, n.d.). By recognizing and supporting DEI, it empowers its people to consistently deliver its products, goods, and services in a culturally competent manner.

References

American Red Cross. (n.d.). American Red Cross | Help Those Affected by Disasters. https://www.redcross.org/

The American Red Cross. (2020). Disaster Update: Fiscal Year 2020 [Fact sheet]. https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/about-us/publications/2021-publications/fy-20-disaster-update.pdf

Kirsch, T. D., Circh, R., Bissell, R. A., & Goldfeder, M. (2016). “Just-in-time” personal preparedness: Downloads and usage patterns of the american red cross hurricane application during hurricane sandy. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 10(5), 762–767. https://doi.org/library.capella.edu/10.1017/dmp.2016.52

Lue, E., & Wilson, P. (2017). Mapping fires and american red cross aid using demographic indicators of vulnerability. Disasters, 42(2), 409–426. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12198

Sen-Crowe, B., McKenney, K., & Elkbuli, A. (2021). Challenges associated with blood banks and blood donations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 43, 281–282. https://doi.org/library.capella.edu/10.1016/j.ajem.2020.06.058

NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 3 Community Resources SC