Tag Archives: Military

Trust and Care: The Story of a Red Cross Volunteer Flight Surgeon

Posted on by

“When patients come in, they automatically trust you when they see the Red Cross,” says Justin Nast, M.D., about the logo that is on his name tag. His American Red Cross badge identifies Dr. Nast as a volunteer flight surgeon entrusted with the care of U.S. Air Force aviators.

How did Dr. Nast become a Red Cross volunteer flight surgeon? Interestingly, he didn’t start his medical career planning to be a flight surgeon. In fact, he was an obstetrics and gynecology resident when he was recruited by the Air Force. (An ob/gyn is the medical specialty that encompasses pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, and the health of the female reproductive system.) After joining the armed forces, he spent eight years delivering babies and caring for the health of enlisted service women.

When the hospital he was stationed at in Germany was closing, he launched into a new career: aerospace medicine. Dr. Nast says it’s a growing branch of medicine.

Dr. Justin Nast is part of a unique partnership between the American Red Cross and the U.S. Air Force.
Dr. Nast supports the Air Force as a civilian, by volunteering through the Red Cross in the same role in which he served while on active duty – that of a flight medicine physician.
American Red Cross volunteers Dr. Dan Canlas and Dr. Justin Nast at Travis Air Force Base.
Read more

A Salute for Your Service: Our Partnership with David Grant Medical Center

Posted on by
American Red Cross volunteers provide warm human interactions at the David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base. This includes greeting patients and visitors at the front desk, answering phones, and providing directions.

In the white, sterile halls of a hospital – any hospital, let alone one on a military base – you might expect to find expert medical care. But thanks to the American Red Cross, at the David Grant Medical Center (DGMC) on Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, you’ll also find bright, cheery and helpful volunteers.

The Red Cross has a special partnership with the medical center where teens and other volunteers “are able to augment the hospital experience for patients, providing warm human interaction while allowing hospital staff to focus primarily on their medical duties,” says Nikki Rowe, Red Cross director of Service to the Armed Forces and International Services for the Northern California Coastal Region. Nikki has been managing the relationship with the DGMC for several years as part of her responsibilities.

Read more

Looking back on 2021

Posted on by

Please join us as we say goodbye to 2021 with a look back at some of our favorite stories of the year from all of our lines of service.

Service to the Armed Forces

Lisa Ann Rohr was one of nine Red Cross SAF Mobile personnel who left the U.S. for overseas duty from August 2020 to April 2021. Lisa Ann was one of two Red Crossers initially stationed in Iraq, at the diplomatic post Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center (BDSC).

She says: “My entire ‘boots on the ground’ experience providing virtual services in Emergency Communications Messaging Delivery and Service Member follow-up with my peers, to creative ‘no contact’ distribution of incoming holiday donations, gifts and personal care items, to organizing cooking classes, language classes, and cultural history classes for U.S. and Coalition military forces serving their deployment rotation at BDSC, was a dream come true!”

You can read more about Lisa’s experiences here.

Lifesaving Blood

Blood donor Jennifer Sahni credits the Red Cross for saving her life after a challenging childbirth. After delivery, Jennifer’s cesarean incision would not stop bleeding. She received two units of blood, which stabilized her. Two days later, she had to receive a second transfusion with an additional two units of blood. She was able to go home the next day.

“I am so grateful to the people who donated the blood I received,” Jennifer said. “Because of them, I was able to go home and be with my kids. You can read more about Jennifer’s story here.

Training Services

On Tuesday, March 16, two local residents were honored with American Red Cross commendations in a virtual ceremony hosted by the organization’s Central Coast Chapter.

“These two individuals exemplify the mission of the Red Cross to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies and are to be commended for their willingness to help others in distress.” – Michele Averill, Executive Director of the American Red Cross Central Coast Chapter. You can read more about Linda and Robert here.

International Services

Red Crossers and the public at large were invited to a speaker series to learn how the American Red Cross International Services team provides relief and hope in communities around the globe by reconnecting families separated by crises, helping rebuild communities devastated by disasters and working alongside health organizations to eliminated global disease. 

Featured panelists included Chris Losavio, Executive Director, Heart of the Valley Chapter American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region; Patrick Hamilton, Head of Delegation for the United States and Canada International Committee of the Red Cross; Koby J. Langley, Senior Vice President, Service to the Armed Forces and International Services American Red Cross; Christine Medeiros, Pacific Division Lead, Restoring Family Links American Red Cross. You can view a recording of the discussion here.

Disaster Services

Navy veteran Michael Ocaranza awoke earlier this year to flames engulfing his apartment. He had just enough time to grab his dog, Sparky, and race out the door as fire licked around his head.

American Red Cross volunteers and case managers, Betsy Witthohn and Cindy Jones, first contacted Mike during his hospitalization and began to put together resources for his welfare following his stay. During the recovery process, Mike says they became “like friends from the past that I never had before – it’s a good feeling all over.”

You can read more about Mike’s story here.

From all of us in Communications, Happy Holidays and best wishes for the New Year!

If you have a story lead for any one of our writers, please email us at NCCRPublicAffairs@redcross.org.

Lisa Ann Rohr, American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) Program Manager Returns from Iraq

Posted on by

Narrated to Lawrence D. Dietz, Public Affairs Officer, Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region

SAF Mobile Staff, Team 44
(Masks required in Germany)

Lisa Ann Rohr was one of nine Red Cross SAF Mobile personnel who left the U.S. for overseas duty from August 2020 to April 2021. Lisa Ann was one of two Red Crossers initially stationed in Iraq, at the diplomatic post Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center (BDSC).

Lisa Ann’s core U.S. roles and responsibilities for SAF in the Northern California Coastal Region of the Red Cross are Follow-up Casework, Military Treatment Facility (MTF) programs, including Licensed Medical Volunteer placement, and Military Entrance Processing Station Briefing program management.

As for deployments, Red Cross SAF Mobile Staff are assembled into rotating deployment teams from Continental US and Outside Continental U.S. Red Cross regions for a six-month mission. Lisa Ann, with her eight colleagues, were known as Team 44.

Read more

Melissa Kaplan of Sonoma County Receives Gene Beck Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award

Posted on by

Extraordinary Volunteer Flies Under the Radar

by Marcia Antipa

Melissa Kaplan, Gene Beck Volunteer of the Year, with her Co-Instructor, Bodhi.

“I see my job as being in customer service,” says Melissa Kaplan.

That is putting it mildly. Since Melissa joined the Red Cross in 2006, she has become one of the most dedicated and essential volunteers in the Northern California Coastal Region. She volunteers more than 1,200 hours a year and has performed multiple jobs in her 15 years with the Red Cross.

Fellow volunteer Angela Thompson Hunt nominated Melissa for the Gene Beck Award, named for the long-time volunteer and board member.

“She has worked tirelessly for Red Cross for such a long time and all those behind-the-scenes tasks that let other people make progress. I would not have been able to do the kind of work I’ve done if she wasn’t there with me, backing me up.“

Read more

When compassion breeds compassion across a lifetime

Posted on by
Penny with a K-9 from the Monterey County Sheriff Department.

Penny Mount likes to have her hands full of projects and people for whom she cares. During a recent phone chat to talk about compassion calls she made on behalf of the American Red Cross’ Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) program, she was also looking after her 11-month-old great-granddaughter, Jolene. “She’s headstrong, just like her mother,” Penny says. By the end of that same call, Jolene had “creatively decorated herself” and Penny’s counter with her lunch. “Her mother’s not going to be too happy with me,” Penny chuckled. 

And that’s just how it is with Penny: breezy, light and full of gratitude. 

The compassion calls were part of SAF’s month of service this past February. Volunteers from across the Northern California Coastal Region placed calls to the nearly 3,000 families served by SAF in the last 18 months. They checked on the families’ health and welfare and extended a hand of assistance should any be needed. The purpose was to deliver the Red Cross mission of providing care and comfort to service members, veterans and military families. 

Penny loved it. 

Read more
« Older Entries