EMS History
Red Cross
Red Cross , international
humanitarian agency, dedicated, in time of war,
to alleviating the sufferings of wounded soldiers,
civilians, and prisoners of war.
In time of peace, it renders medical aid and other help to people
afflicted by major disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, epidemics,
and famines, and performs other public service functions.
Organization and History
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement consists
of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a group of
up to 25 Swiss citizens with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland;
the more than 160 national Red Cross societies; and the Geneva-based
International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,
which coordinates peacetime activities of the national societies.
Initiative for founding the Red Cross came from the 19th-century
Swiss philanthropist Jean Henri Dunant. Appalled by the almost
complete lack of care for wounded soldiers, he appealed to national
leaders to establish societies devoted to the aid of the wounded in
wartime. Five Swiss citizens formed a committee, which later became
the ICRC, and issued a call for an international conference. The first
conference was held in Geneva in October 1863.
American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red
Cross (officially The American National
Red Cross)
was founded in 1881
by the American humanitarian Clara
Barton and first
chartered by the
Congress of the
United States in
1900.
A second charter, still in force, was granted in 1905. Under this
charter the American Red Cross is required to act as a medium
of communication between members of the armed forces and
their families; to carry on a system of national and international
relief to alleviate suffering caused by pestilence, flood, fire, and
other disasters; and to devise measures for preventing such
calamities.
American Red Cross services are organized into several
programs, including a disaster services program, a nursing and
health services program, and a safety services program. Its
blood services program is the largest blood donor service in the
world. The organization is directed by a 50-member board of
governors. National headquarters is in Washington, D.C.
* American Red Cross
* InterNational Red Cross
Paramedic Neomi Zvi - Feb 2000