Jane Delano
Encyclopedia
Jane Arminda Delano, born March 13, 1862 in Montour Falls, New York
, United States
– died April 15, 1919 in Savenay
, Loire-Atlantique
, France
, was a nurse and founder of the American Red Cross Nursing Service
.
boarding school in her hometown then studied nursing at the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing in New York City
, where she graduated in 1886.
hospital treating victims of a yellow fever
epidemic. There, she demonstrated her superior executive and administrative skills and developed innovative nursing procedures for the patients under her care. Leaving Florida, Jane Delano then spent three years nursing typhoid patients at a copper mine in Bisbee, Arizona
until accepting an appointment as the Superintendent of Nurses at University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
In 1898, during the Spanish-American War
, Jane Delano became a member of the New York Chapter of the American Red Cross
and served as the secretary for the enrollment of nurses. In 1902 she returned to Bellevue Hospital in New York City as the director of the Training School for Nurses where she remained until 1909 when she was made Superintendent of the United States Army Nurse Corps. During this time, her invaluable contributions to her profession resulted in her being named president of the American Nurses Association and chair of the National Committee of the Red Cross Nursing Service.
A leading pioneer of the modern nursing profession, Delano almost single-handedly created American Red Cross
Nursing
when she united the work of the American Nurses Association
, the Army Nurse Corps, and the American Red Cross. Through her efforts, emergency response teams were organized for disaster relief and over 8,000 registered nurses were trained and ready for duty by the time the United States entered World War I
. During the course of the War, more than 20,000 of her nurses played vital roles with the United States military.
while on a Red Cross mission, expiring at Base Hospital No. 8 in Savenay
of Loire-Inferieure, and was interred in a cemetery in the Loire Valley
. The mission was to participate in and represent the American Red Cross at the preliminary conference of Red Cross workers and health experts of the world being held at Cannes. Awarded the Distinguished Service Medal posthumously, the year following her death her remains were brought back to the United States by the Army Quartermaster Corps and re-interred in the nurses section at Arlington National Cemetery
. At the top of the hill overlooking the nurses section is a bronze memorial to Jane Delano and the 296 nurses who lost their lives during World War I. Military funeral services, prior to burial, were held Saturday, September 18, 1920. A number of representatives of the American Red Cross, Army officers of the Army Medical Corps, and a delegation of uniformed nurses attended the funeral. A detachment of Army troops and a military band from Fort Myers acted as an escort for the body when it was taken to the grave from the vault at Arlington Cemetery. All present stood silent as "taps" was given over the grave of Miss Delano.
The following is the award citation to Miss Jane A. Delano:
Delano has been honored many times for her dedication to humanity. She was named to the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame and at Schuyler County Hospital in Dix, New York
there is a Jane Delano Memorial with a display of personal items including a number of her awards and medals. In 1990, the National Nursing Advisory Committee formed the "Jane Delano Society" to ensure active nursing involvement at all levels of the Red Cross and to preserve artifacts that document the history of Red Cross nursing.
Montour Falls, New York
Montour Falls is a village in Schuyler County, New York, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2000 census. A waterfall in the village gives the village its name...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
– died April 15, 1919 in Savenay
Savenay
Savenay is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France and the Pays de la Loire region. Located on the Sillon de Bretagne , north of the Loire, its landscape is characterized by the hillside overlooking the marshes of the Loire...
, Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean.-History:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, was a nurse and founder of the American Red Cross Nursing Service
American Red Cross Nursing Service
The American Red Cross Nursing Service was organized by Jane Arminda Delano . A nurse and member of the American Red Cross, Delano organized the nursing service as the reserve of the Army Nurse Corps to be ready just before the entry of the United States into World War I.-See also:*Jane...
.
Personal life
A descendant of one of the first settlers to America, Philippe de la Noye (Delano) (1602–1681), whose bloodline also includes Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jane Delano attended Cook Academy, a BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
boarding school in her hometown then studied nursing at the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where she graduated in 1886.
Professional life
She started work in 1888 at a Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
hospital treating victims of a yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
epidemic. There, she demonstrated her superior executive and administrative skills and developed innovative nursing procedures for the patients under her care. Leaving Florida, Jane Delano then spent three years nursing typhoid patients at a copper mine in Bisbee, Arizona
Bisbee, Arizona
Bisbee is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, 82 miles southeast of Tucson. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 6,177...
until accepting an appointment as the Superintendent of Nurses at University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
.
In 1898, during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, Jane Delano became a member of the New York Chapter of the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
and served as the secretary for the enrollment of nurses. In 1902 she returned to Bellevue Hospital in New York City as the director of the Training School for Nurses where she remained until 1909 when she was made Superintendent of the United States Army Nurse Corps. During this time, her invaluable contributions to her profession resulted in her being named president of the American Nurses Association and chair of the National Committee of the Red Cross Nursing Service.
A leading pioneer of the modern nursing profession, Delano almost single-handedly created American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
Nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
when she united the work of the American Nurses Association
American Nurses Association
The American Nurses Association is a professional organization to advance and protect the profession of nursing. It started in 1896 as the Nurses Associated Alumnae and was renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911...
, the Army Nurse Corps, and the American Red Cross. Through her efforts, emergency response teams were organized for disaster relief and over 8,000 registered nurses were trained and ready for duty by the time the United States entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. During the course of the War, more than 20,000 of her nurses played vital roles with the United States military.
Death
Jane Delano died in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
while on a Red Cross mission, expiring at Base Hospital No. 8 in Savenay
Savenay
Savenay is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France and the Pays de la Loire region. Located on the Sillon de Bretagne , north of the Loire, its landscape is characterized by the hillside overlooking the marshes of the Loire...
of Loire-Inferieure, and was interred in a cemetery in the Loire Valley
Loire Valley
The Loire Valley , spanning , is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately . It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke, asparagus, and...
. The mission was to participate in and represent the American Red Cross at the preliminary conference of Red Cross workers and health experts of the world being held at Cannes. Awarded the Distinguished Service Medal posthumously, the year following her death her remains were brought back to the United States by the Army Quartermaster Corps and re-interred in the nurses section at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. At the top of the hill overlooking the nurses section is a bronze memorial to Jane Delano and the 296 nurses who lost their lives during World War I. Military funeral services, prior to burial, were held Saturday, September 18, 1920. A number of representatives of the American Red Cross, Army officers of the Army Medical Corps, and a delegation of uniformed nurses attended the funeral. A detachment of Army troops and a military band from Fort Myers acted as an escort for the body when it was taken to the grave from the vault at Arlington Cemetery. All present stood silent as "taps" was given over the grave of Miss Delano.
The following is the award citation to Miss Jane A. Delano:
"By direction of the President and under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved July 9, 1918, the Distinguished Service Medal was awarded posthumously to MISS JANE A. DELANO for exceptionally meritorious and conspicuous service as Director, Department of Nursing, American Red Cross. She applied her great energy and used her powerful influence among the nurses of the country to secure enrollments in the American Red Cross. Through her great efforts and devotion to duty eighteen thousand seven hundred and thirty-two nurses were secured and transferred to the Army Nurse Corps for service during the war. Thus she was a great factor in assisting the Medical Department in caring for the sick and wounded."
Delano has been honored many times for her dedication to humanity. She was named to the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame and at Schuyler County Hospital in Dix, New York
Dix, New York
Dix is a town in Schuyler County, New York, United States. The population was 4,197 at the 2000 census.The Town of Dix is located on the south border of the county and is north of Elmira, New York.- History :...
there is a Jane Delano Memorial with a display of personal items including a number of her awards and medals. In 1990, the National Nursing Advisory Committee formed the "Jane Delano Society" to ensure active nursing involvement at all levels of the Red Cross and to preserve artifacts that document the history of Red Cross nursing.