National Nurses Week: Jodie Hignite

Photos courtesy Jodie Hignite.

Jodie Hignite will have a special bond with a baby girl born in September of this year. Jodie is a Disaster Health Services (DHS) volunteer within our region. During the 2022 eastern Kentucky floods, Jodie met a woman who had lost her belongings in the damage. Jodie asked her if she could help replace her glasses, medical supplies, or prescriptions. The woman responded that the only thing she was heartbroken over was the loss of her IVF medications.

“She went on to tell me that her and her partner had been trying for years to have a baby,” said Jodie. “She went to New York to get started on IVF and secure her medications. She spent thousands on them. They got swept away in the floods.” Jodie felt it was her mission to help this request get approved. She called and bargained with pharmacies to get the prices on the medications down.

Eventually, the request got approved for the Red Cross to assist in payment. Jodie recounted the story in a shaky voice. “I received a text 2 months ago. She kept my phone number. She is having a baby girl in September. She said she is going to notify me when the baby is born.

Jodie is so passionate about her career that she went back to school 3 times to get different nursing degrees. She has a Bachelor’s in nursing, a Master’s in family nursing, a degree in Pediatric Acute Care, and in Adult Acute Care. She was a flight nurse for 20 years, which involves providing pre-hospital patient care during emergency air transport. “My favorite job was working at the University of Louisville Trauma Center. I went into every area of critical care emergency medicine that you could work in as a nurse,” said Jodie.

Jodie retired from nursing a few years ago and started volunteering at her local health department. There, she met Cindy Keeney, another of our DHS nurses. She started volunteering with the Red Cross shortly after in December of 2021. “I honestly compare it to when I did pre-hospital and I’d land at a scene, and it was life or death. There’s a lot of similarities for the people I care for now like I did back then. It feels like you’re using the same skills. When they are most vulnerable, I can save their life, provide them comfort and guidance,” said Jodie.

You are a hero in so many ways, Jodie! We love having you on our Kentucky team! #NationalNursesWeek

National Nurses Week: Cindy Keeney

It’s #NationalNursesWeek and today we are recognizing Cindy Keeney, a valued member of our Disaster Health Services (DHS) team. Cindy started her nursing journey as an intensive care nurse in the Emergency Room. She then went to work for the Kentucky state hospital association. There, she began writing a grant to improve end of life care. “The University of Louisville School of Medicine didn’t want the work to end,” said Cindy. “They decided to roll it over into an initiative with the School of Public Health and the medical school. I helped them start the program.”

Photos courtesy Cindy Keeney

Cindy did end of life care research and eventually began creating health care apps for patients with chronic diseases. “It’s so the patients can recover and transition from an acute care bed to being at home… I wrote algorithms into telehealth devices, and it would assess the patient daily. It would attach biometrics that could let them know ‘take an extra water pill,” said Cindy. “It catches health concerns before they become a problem. It keeps them in a stable place of health and wellness.”

Her work then became international, helping a mental health organization in Europe improve the health and well being of citizens. Now Cindy is teaching Health Services courses at Ivy Tech Community College and is a Clark County health department contract nurse. Cindy has been volunteering with us for 6 years. “I’m the co-lead for Disaster Health Services and I train all the new Health Services workers,” she said.

Cindy assists the Red Cross West Virginia Region as well. “Some people ask why I work with the Integrated Care Condolence Team (ICCT) as they feel it’s depressing, but it’s not really. It’s all an extension of my nursing. It’s not a job it’s a calling. Helping people in their most vulnerable state. To help them get back on their feet and feel like they can move forward is incredibly rewarding,” said Cindy.

Her favorite memory is helping a Veteran in the Harlan, Kentucky floods in 2020. “He had lost a leg in service and had a prosthetic. He was staying in a metal shed. The shed door didn’t close all the way. He was staying there and had lost his CPAP machine and prosthetic leg,” reflected Cindy.

Over time, his prosthetic leg was replaced, and he had a roof over his head. “The University of Kentucky helped us contact the makers of the prosthetic leg. They gave him the replacement at no charge,” said Cindy. “Someone the man knew needed work around her house and she ended up giving him room and board. We got his CPAP machine replaced… by the end, he was so grateful.”

Thank you, Cindy, for sharing your story and being a member of our DHS team!

Feature Friday: Virginia Smiley

Back in 2006, Virginia Smiley’s daughter was told her mom wouldn’t survive long enough to get to the hospital. “It was scary, they didn’t know why I was losing so much blood. I have AB- and the hospital didn’t think they would have enough of my blood type. They contacted St. Louis to fly blood in for me,” reflected Virginia. Her blood count dropped dangerously to 3.8 and she received 5 and a half units of blood.

Photos courtesy Virginia Smiley.

Now Virginia is the Red Cross Blood Program Leader for the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) in Brandenburg, Kentucky. “I’ve been doing this for at least 15 plus years,” said Virginia. “There’s been a few times that we have done a blood drive in memory or in honor of someone. One time we had 4 [blood buses] in front of our VFW. We had over 100 donors that day.” Virginia noted that you must know your people, talk with them, and make them feel welcome. She loves hosting blood drives.

With high expectations, Brandenburg VFW expects to collect 50-60 pints of blood at each Red Cross drive. “Our smallest blood drive collected 44. We thought that was bad!” expressed Virginia. She’s a key member of the VFW in Brandenburg, attending meetings since it’s conception in 1991. “I love doing work for the veterans. We are proud of our building. We have had our own building since 2000.”

Virginia became involved with the VFW through her husband and brother who served overseas. Now, it’s a family affair. “I’ve got a grandson, he’s like me. He would do anything for the veterans. My daughter, she works the monthly veteran’s breakfast- she’s there at 5AM on a Saturday to volunteer,” said Virginia. She and her husband, Ray, have 3 kids: Renee, Bobby, and Paula.

Virginia with fellow VFW members.

Virginia is also a member of the Meade County Homemakers Society, and she says volunteering is just the thing to do. The Meade County local TV, newspaper, and radio station assist with getting the word out to the community about the need for blood. The blood drives are long days, but her volunteer team enjoys the sense of community. “We get there at 10:30am and when the night is over, you are not tired. Because you feel good. You have helped in some way.”

We are grateful for Virginia’s volunteer work to forward our mission! Thanks to the generosity of blood donors, Virginia is still with us today, making a difference in her community. Learn how to become a Blood Program Leader by going to redcross.org/volunteer.