Susan Hasmiller of West Windsor received the 42nd Florence Nightingale Medal from the International Committee of the Red Cross, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. American Red Cross president and CEO Gail McGovern presented the medal during a June 25 ceremony in Washington, DC.
“Sue’s outstanding work with the Red Cross, which has included handling difficult situations in leadership roles during major disaster responses, exemplifies the humanity necessary to merit this distinction,” said Kevin Sullivan, CEO for American Red Cross of Central New Jersey. “We are proud to work alongside her.”
Hassmiller began volunteering with the Red Cross following the 1975 earthquake in Mexico. The Red Cross helped her locate her parents, who were visiting Mexico at the time. Hassmiller has since been a volunteer involved in Red Cross disaster relief efforts in the United States and abroad, including tornadoes in the Midwest, Hurricane Andrew, 9/11, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina.
When three consecutive hurricanes hit Florida within weeks of each other in 2004, Hassmiller oversaw the physical and mental health of shelter residents on Florida’s East Coast. She set up a special hospice unit in a secluded area of one shelter for dying and special-needs patients until the state could take over. Another shelter housed a number of disaster clients who were mentally ill and Hassmiller worked closely with psychiatrists to ensure proper medication and referral, and the protection of the rest of the shelter population.
Moments after the planes struck the twin towers in New York City on 9/11, Hassmiller took action to open a shelter that evening for those left homeless by the attack and was among the first volunteers to staff the 9/11 crisis line, a job that entailed speaking with the families of the lost and deceased.
Hassmiller served as a member of the National Board of Governors for the American Red Cross from 2001 to 2007. She currently serves on the board of the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey, where she has volunteered since 1997 and remains an active volunteer at National Headquarters as a member of the National Nursing Committee.
Hassmiller holds the position of senior advisor for nursing with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton and is currently on loan to the Institute of Medicine as director of the RWJF Initiative on the Future of Nursing.
“We congratulate Sue Hassmiller on receiving this very prestigious award,” said RWJF President Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A. “Dr. Hassmiller’s visionary leadership in the field of nursing has helped the foundation initiate and implement numerous longstanding programs that aim to address the nurse and nurse faculty shortages. Her passion and commitment has helped to shed light on the important role that nurses play in the health care system and our communities.”
Visit www.redcross.org for more information.
