American Red Cross Research Articles

International Relief Operations in Palestine in the Aftermath of the First World War: the Discrepancy between International Humanitarian Organisations’ Visions, Ambitions, and Actions

This article examines the history of international humanitarian relief from 1918 to 1920 with a focus on the American Red Cross (arc) in Jerusalem, during the period that eventually led to the establishment of the British mandate in Palestine. The analysis shows a discrepancy between the arc’s projects and what it actually realised during its humanitarian operations. The mission’s ambition clearly went beyond offering temporary shelter, blankets, clothing, some food and medical aid. It was a rehabilitation and construction mission. The results were unimpressive for a number of reasons that this article examines in detail.

P056 DISCRIMINATORY ROLE OF ANTI-MICROBIAL ANTIBODIES IN DIAGNOSIS OF CROHN’S DISEASE AGAINST NORMAL AND OTHER MIMICS

Abstract Anti-microbial antibodies have been found useful for diagnosis of Crohn’s disease (CD) and Sjogren’s syndrome (Sjo). These antibodies are also elevated in other autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and multiple sclerosis (MS). The prevalence of these antibodies in the normal healthy population is unknown. We set to survey the normal population for these anti-microbial antibodies in comparison with Crohn’s disease and others. Totally 288 blood samples from the donor units of the leukocyte-reduced red blood cells from the American Red Cross were examined for the presence of anti-microbial antibodies using direct ELISA assays established in our laboratory using the recombinant microbial protein antigens. Our results showed that the prevalence of RPOB antibody in the normal blood donor population is 2.4% (7 positive of 288 samples). The prevalence of EF-G antibody is 4.2% (12 positive of 288 samples), ATP5a 5.2% (15 positive), Hsp65 2.8% (8 positive), EF-Tu 5.6% (16 positive), and NMPC 4.2% (12 positive). Meanwhile, in 109 patients with Crohn’s disease and 28 patients with Sjogren’s syndrome, these anti-bacterial antibodies are significantly increased (p<0.001) (Figure 1). The anti-microbial antibodies were also elevated in ulcerative colitis (UC) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ROC curve analysis showed excellent sensitivity and specificity (Figure 2). These results indicate that the specific anti-microbial antibodies within the normal general population are uncommon, but frequent in chronic disease states. The presence of anti-microbial antibodies in patients but not in normal controls can serve as biomarkers for chronic diseases such as Crohn’s disease and Sjogren’s, and their presence indicates abnormal B-cell/plasma cell function in response to the commensal/pathogenic microbes. Since the antigens were derived from the common microbes present in normal population, the antimicrobial antibodies in patients with diseases but not in the normal population suggest a deficient clearance of the microbes from the circulation by the innate immunity system in chronic diseases. These results also raise questions of bacterial vaccination using whole bacterial extracts as these anti-bacterial antibodies appear pathogenic rather than protective, offering fresh thinking in designing bacterial vaccines as preventive or therapeutic measures in chronic diseases such as Crohn’s disease and Sjogren’s Disease.

Hands-Only CPR: An Academic Partnership with the American Red Cross

This article describes the development and implementation of an innovative partnership with the local chapter of the American Red Cross to deliver Hands-Only CPR classes. Nursing students who were candidates for induction into Alpha Delta Nu became American Red Cross volunteers and underwent training to become certified as Hands-Only CPR instructors. Over 7 weeks, 16 students each taught at least one class in the community, reaching a total of 228 persons.

The Buried Mirror of American Islamic History

American Religion 2, no. 1 (Fall 2020), pp. 18–23 Copyright © 2020, The Trustees of Indiana University • doi: 10.2979/amerreli.2.1.05 The Buried Mirror of American Islamic History Edward E. Curtis IV Indiana University School of Liberal Arts, Indianapolis, USA Joe Hassan Chamie, born in 1887 in Ottoman Syria, arrived in South Dakota in 1903. Several years later, as the United States prepared to enter World War I, he registered for the draft.1 He also declared his intention to become a US citizen, and a 1918 change in US law meant that, by serving in the military, his wish would be granted. On July 2, Chamie was made a citizen at Camp Merritt in Bergen, New Jersey.2 On July 6, just a few days later, Private Chamie shipped out on the Scotian from New York as part of Company “I”, 361st Infantry, 91st Division of the American Expeditionary Forces.3 According to the Red Cross, Private Chamie was wounded in battle on September 29. Just three days before, the 91st Division had begun its assault on the German army as part of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The 361st Infantry, like other units, was charged with trying to take German trenches. The problem was that in order to do so, soldiers had to traverse “several hundred yards of mud, debris, shell holes, tangle foot and concertina wire” as they charged German 1 South Dakota, State Census, 1915, US, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917– 1918, www.ancestry.com. 2 US, World War I Soldier Naturalizations, 1918, www.ancestry.com. 3 Lists of Outgoing Passengers, 1917–1938, www.ancestry.com. Edward E. Curtis IV 19 machine gun nests.4 Private Chamie was hit in the leg. He received care at an American hospital, but it may have taken some time before he was given medical attention. Because of a German artillery barrage, it was impossible to evacuate all of the wounded until September 30. Chamie did not recover. According to his grave marker, he died on Oct. 17, 1918. He was “buried with full military honors,” wrote Genevieve Swezey, Red Cross casualty searcher. “The coffin was covered with the American flag and flowers given by the American Red Cross were placed on the grave. After the chaplain had read the prayers the firing squad fired three volleys and the bugler sounded the last ‘taps’ while all the soldiers present stood at salute.” His burial place is the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, located near Romagne-sousMontfaucon . “The spot seems an ideal one for our American boys, who have fought so bravely in this world war for democracy,” Swezey wrote. “He was laid to rest with others, who also had made the supreme sacrifice.”5 Such memorialization placed a Syrian Muslim at heart of the US American story, interpreting the spilling of his blood as a sacrifice that made the life of the nation possible. Even as his body was laid to rest in foreign soil, his memory was repatriated in his new nation. The public recognition of this Syrian Muslim’s sacrifice for America was not seen in Sioux Falls as the act of an outsider. Joe Chamie was one of “our boys.” Except for one thing. As the dead were buried, all service members except for Jews received a Christian cross as their grave marker (fig. 1). The US Army did not allow service members to identify as Muslim. To this day Joe Chamie’s body is buried underneath a cross.6 But Joe Chamie was a Muslim. He grew up in a Muslim family, his next of kin was either living with or was one of the most prominent Muslims in Sioux Falls, and in 1915, he told the South Dakota Census that he was “Mohammedan.” No one passing by his grave today would know that. The fact that Joe Chamie’s body lies under this Christian symbol erases his Muslim identity from the archive of American religious studies. He is not alone. One of the reasons why Islam has not always counted as American 4 “The Meuse Argonne Offensive,” National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/research /military/ww1/meuse-argonne; “91st Division American Expeditionary...

Неизвестный Тьюслер: руководитель Американского Красного Креста в Сибири и на Дальнем Востоке в годы Гражданской войны

Неизвестный Тьюслер: руководитель Американского Красного Креста в Сибири и на Дальнем Востоке в годы Гражданской войны

Singing Corporate Social Responsibility: A Multimodal Analysis of the 2018 Budweiser Super Bowl Commercial

The 2018 Super Bowl Commercial of the Budweiser Beer is entitled “Stand by You” and revolves around the pluriannual Water Donation Program of the Anheuser-Busch brewing company. The video features images of the employees of the Budweiser Cartersville, GA brewery organizing the emergency drinking water delivery with the help of American Red Cross, its partner in such disaster-relief efforts over the past 30 years. The images are accompanied by a cover of the 1961 Ben E. King iconic song “Stand by me”. Adopting a socio-semiotic multimodal perspective, the paper aims at analyzing the meaning-making construction of the video in its YouTube contextualization. In detail, the focus of the paper is to understand how the sound and the lyrics of the cover, with their cultural, linguistic and semiotic layers of meaning, constitute the semiotic entry point in the narration and create the soundscape for the framing of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Texas and World War I by Gregory W. Ball, and: North Carolina’s Experience during the First World War ed. by Shepherd W. McKinley, Steven Sabol, and: The American South and the Great War, 1914–1924 ed. by Matthew L. Downs, M. Ryan Floyd

Reviewed by: Texas and World War I by Gregory W. Ball, and: North Carolina’s Experience during the First World War ed. by Shepherd W. McKinley, Steven Sabol, and: The American South and the Great War, 1914–1924 ed. by Matthew L. Downs, M. Ryan Floyd Petra DeWitt Texas and World War I. By Gregory W. Ball. (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 2019. Pp. [viii], 156. Paper, $20.00, ISBN 978-1-62511-050-3.) North Carolina’s Experience during the First World War. Edited by Shepherd W. McKinley and Steven Sabol. (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2018. Pp. xx, 347. $50.00, ISBN 978-1-62190-414-4.) The American South and the Great War, 1914–1924. Edited by Matthew L. Downs and M. Ryan Floyd. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2018. Pp. viii, 248. $47.00, ISBN 978-0-8071-6937-7.) The centennial of World War I has contributed to new published studies about the conflict and its impact. The three works under review focus on the [End Page 202] home front in southern states and battlefront encounters by southern men. Together they offer new insight into regional experiences during a national emergency and thus fit well with the growing number of local studies about American involvement in the First World War. Individually, they demonstrate that, although the need to produce foodstuffs and weaponry hastened the transition of the agricultural economy of the South into a more modern and industrialized one, social and political traditions changed at a much slower pace despite new challenges brought on by the war. Texas and World War I by Gregory W. Ball is a concise study that evaluates the many changes the war caused in Texas. The author expertly places the arrival of World War I into the context of Texas’s heightened sense of preparedness for military action owing to the unrest along its border with revolutionary Mexico. Texans, like so many Americans, greeted the declaration of war with public assertions of patriotism, formed home guard companies in several communities to counter any potential threats from Mexico, joined American Red Cross chapters, and purchased more Liberty Bonds than required. The state’s Council of Defense created hundreds of county and community councils to coordinate the war effort at the local level. Despite drought conditions, Texas increased food and livestock production. Women in Texas, as they did throughout the nation, conserved food, served as nurses, and worked in factories. Although strained racial tensions contributed to the Houston riot in 1917, African Americans nevertheless held patriotic meetings, supported the war effort, and sent their men to war. Texans were also suspicious of foreigners, especially German immigrants who were not naturalized citizens. Newspapers fanned growing anti-German sentiment by publishing rumors of German spy activities and the arrests of suspected saboteurs. Ball, however, does not evaluate just how many of the accused actually received convictions under the Espionage Act (1917) and whether any of the existing German-language newspapers suffered as a result of the Trading with the Enemy Act (1917). Such analysis could have measured the depth of anti-German sentiment in the state. The remaining chapters focus on military aspects, especially the implementation of the Selective Service Act in Texas (1917), the turning of men into soldiers at several training camps in the state, and their experiences on the western front in Europe. The author effectively illustrates that the appeal to the volunteer spirit to enlarge the ranks of the Texas National Guard and the drafting of men into the regular army was quite successful because the state was already prepared for military action due to unrest along the Texas-Mexico border. Ball concludes that the war also had a political impact on the home front because younger politicians, such as Sam Rayburn, replaced the older ones and guided the nation into a new political direction by asking what power the national government had over its citizens. Ball has read numerous Texas and out-of-state newspapers and letters to learn about the battlefield encounters of Texas soldiers assigned to the Thirty-sixth and Ninetieth Army divisions. These primary accounts are the best aspect of this well-structured study. The...

Call for Code: Developers tackle natural disasters with software

Natural disasters are increasing as highlighted in many reports including the Borgen Project. In 2018, David Clark Cause as creator and IBM as founding partner, in partnership with the United Nations Human Rights Office, the American Red Cross International Team, and The Linux Foundation, issued a “Call for Code” to developers to create robust projects that prepare communities for natural disasters and help them respond more quickly in their aftermath. This article covers the steps and tools used to engage with developers, the results from the first of five competitions to be run by the Call for Code Global Initiative over five years, and how the winners were selected. Insights from the mobilization of 100,000 developers toward this cause are described, as well as the lessons learned from running large-scale hackathons.

Serological Testing for Mycobacterial Heat Shock Protein Hsp65 Antibody in Health and Diseases.

Mycobacterial heat shock protein 65 gene (Hsp65) has been widely used for classification of Mycobacterial species, and detection of Mycobacterial genes by molecular methods and has proven useful in identification of Mycobacterial infection in various clinical conditions. Circulating antibody against Mycobacterial hsp65 has been found in many clinical diseases including autoimmune diseases (Crohn’s disease, lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, etc.), atherosclerosis and cancers. The prevalence of anti-Hsp65 antibody in the normal healthy population is unknown. We determined the blood levels of antibody against Mycobacterial hsp65 in the normal population represented by 288 blood donors of the American Red Cross and tested the blood of 109 patients with Crohn’s disease and 28 patients with Sjogren’s syndrome for comparison. The seroprevalence of anti-Hsp65 IgG in the normal population of Red Cross donors was 2.8% (8 of 288 positive). The Hsp65 antibody levels were significantly elevated in patients with Crohn’s disease and Sjogren’s syndrome. The prevalence of Hsp65 antibody in Crohn’s disease patients was 67.9% (74 of 109 patients), and 85.7% for Sjogren’s patients (24 of 28 patients). Our data indicate that anti-Hsp65 antibody is rare in the normal population, but frequent in chronic diseases. The presence of circulating Hsp65 antibody reflects an abnormal immune (adaptive) response to Mycobacterial exposure in patients with chronic diseases, thus differentiating the patients with chronic diseases from those clinical mimics.

Non-Invasive Venous waveform Analysis (NIVA) for monitoring blood loss in human blood donors and validation in a porcine hemorrhage model.

There is an unmet need for a non-invasive approach to diagnose hemorrhage early, before changes in vital signs occur. Non-Invasive Venous waveform Analysis (NIVA) uses a unique physiological signal (the peripheral venous waveform) to assess intravascular volume. We hypothesized changes in the venous waveform would be observed with blood loss in healthy adult blood donors and characterized hemorrhage using invasive monitoring in a porcine model. Prospective observational study. American Red Cross donation center. 50 human blood donors and 12 non-donating controls; 7 Yorkshire pigs. A venous waveform capturing prototype (NIVA device) was secured to the volar aspect of the wrist in human subjects. A central venous catheter was used to obtain hemodynamic indices and venous waveforms were obtained using the prototype NIVA device over the saphenous vein during 400mL of graded hemorrhage in a porcine model. Venous waveforms were transformed from the time to the frequency domain. The ratiometric power contributions of the cardiac frequencies were used to calculate a NIVA value representative of volume status. A significant decrease in NIVA value was observed after 500mL of whole blood donation (p<.05). A ROC curve for the ability of the NIVA to detect 500mL of blood loss demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.94. In the porcine model, change in NIVA value correlated linearly with blood loss and with changes in hemodynamic indices. This study provides proof-of-concept for a potential application of NIVA in detection of blood loss. NIVA represents a novel physiologic signal for detection of early blood loss that may be useful in early triage and perioperative management.

2019 American Heart Association and American Red Cross Focused Update for First Aid: Presyncope: An Update to the American Heart Association and American Red Cross Guidelines for First Aid.

This 2019 focused update to the American Heart Association and American Red Cross first aid guidelines follows the completion of a systematic review of treatments for presyncope of vasovagal or orthostatic origin. This review was commissioned by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation and resulted in the development of an international summary statement of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation First Aid Task Force Consensus on Science With Treatment Recommendations. This focused update highlights the evidence supporting specific interventions for presyncope of orthostatic or vasovagal origin and recommends the use of physical counterpressure maneuvers. These maneuvers include the contraction of muscles of the body such as the legs, arms, abdomen, or neck, with the goal of elevating blood pressure and alleviating symptoms. Although lower-body counterpressure maneuvers are favored over upper-body counterpressure maneuvers, multiple methods can be beneficial, depending on the situation.

Human red blood cell stroma: an alternative to traditional allogeneic adsorption methods.

Allogeneic adsorption (alloadsorption) involves incubating an aliquot of patient plasma with red blood cells (RBCs) of a known phenotype to facilitate removal of autoantibodies and allow for detection of remaining, potentially clinically significant alloantibodies. Alloadsorptions are routinely performed using fresh or frozen donor RBCs having particular Rh and Kidd phenotypes, and are usually enzyme or ZZAP treated before adsorptions. RBC stroma would provide a method to prepare large amounts of adsorption material that may be stored frozen and used when needed. A total of 309 samples were presented to our institutions (American Red Cross, Southwest Region Texas laboratories) with serologic positive IgG autoantibodies, had allogeneic RBC stromal adsorptions performed, and underlying alloantibodies identified. After papain treatment of RBCs from group O, K- individuals who were R1 R1 , R2 R2 , and rr where at least one individual was Jk(a+b-) and one individual Jk(a-b+), stroma was prepared using digitonin digestion of the RBC membrane. Large amounts of stroma could be obtained and were aliquoted and frozen at -18°C or less for up to 2 years. One hundred seventeen of 309 (38%) samples demonstrated alloantibodies following stromal alloadsorptions. Twenty-two different alloantibodies were identified in the stroma-adsorbed plasma, with an average of two stromal adsorptions resolving the autoantibody reactivity. The specificities of alloantibodies underlying the autoantibody included those in the Rh system (112), Kell system (24), Duffy system (14), Kidd system (30), MNS system (19), Lutheran system (2), and Diego system (2). Successful removal of autoantibody using RBC stromal adsorption was obtained in 308 samples and allowed for the identification of underlying alloantibodies in 117 samples. Preparation and use of RBC stroma should significantly benefit immunohematology reference laboratories in their antibody investigations.

Regional After-Action Review Among Local Health Department Personnel After Hurricane Matthew in Eastern North Carolina, United States.

Hurricane Matthew impacted eastern North Carolina during October 2016. A regional after-action exercise was conducted as a moderated discussion using an adaptation of Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) after-action report format to allow health departments to communicate lessons learned across jurisdictional lines. Forty-one professionals from 18 counties participated in a 2-hour workshop. Information on strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations was collected in small-group format, organized into county clusters by hazard mitigation regions and by 3 professional roles (health director, nursing director, and preparedness coordinator). Interagency agreements varied by county, depending on regularity of hurricanes and flooding. Improvement opportunities included enhanced coordination with American Red Cross in shelter operations and opening more special medical needs shelters. Participants emphasized successful coordination with county emergency management leaders. A regional after-action exercise designed as a moderated workshop focusing on the public health response provided an opportunity to exchange strengths and lessons learned after Hurricane Matthew in eastern North Carolina. This after-action approach may be useful for similar local health jurisdictions to build regional consensus for future disaster response planning and training.

The impact of blood utilization guidelines on product usage

In 2012, Frederick Memorial Hospital (FMH) revitalized their blood utilization guidelines to follow a more restrictive approach to blood product transfusions. With help from the American Red Cross and the American Association of Blood Banks, the blood utilization committee at FMH established a set of blood transfusion guidelines, and educated and enforced all ordering physicians to follow the new set of guidelines. Since the guidelines were established, the amount of red blood cell transfusions decreased by 34%, plasma transfusions decreased by 55%, and platelet transfusions decreased by 34%. These decreases have reduced the number of patients exposed to the possibility of transfusion-adverse reactions and related side effects. Reported transfusion reactions since 2012 decreased by 51%. By using a more restrictive set of guidelines the blood utilization committee was able to achieve their goals, which included 1) reducing the high cost associated with blood transfusion, 2) improving patient care, and 3) educating physicians regarding current transfusion protocols and techniques, while concurrently decreasing transfusion-related adverse events. The successful process used at FMH may be useful for other similar health care settings.

Anti-Ata in an African American Woman

Anti-Ata is a rare alloantibody and its clinical significance has not been entirely clear. This case study reports the detection of anti-Ata from a 43-year-old African American female who may require organ transplant. The patient medical history is described including the identification of the antibody and the suitable transfusion products for the patient. A brief review about this rare antibody is also included. Anti-Ata has been implicated as a cause of a clinically significant acute hemolytic reaction in adults and almost all of the reported cases are involved with African American patients. However, there hasn9t been adequate data to determine its clinical significance definitely. This case presented here contributes to the study database of anti-Ata antibodies. It should become of interest to healthcare providers whose patients are predominantly African American or of Caribbean ancestry. Proper healthcare management such as registration to the American Red Cross Rare Donor Registry or blood donation, should also be encouraged in the African-American community.

The American Red Cross' Disaster Protocol:: The Delaware Chapter.

The American Red Cross' Disaster Protocol:: The Delaware Chapter.

The American Red Cross "Mercy Ship" in the First World War: A Pivotal Experiment in Nursing-Centered Clinical Humanitarianism.

The American Red Cross "Mercy Ship" in the First World War: A Pivotal Experiment in Nursing-Centered Clinical Humanitarianism.

Highly Effective Model for Implementation of In-House Platelets in a Tertiary Hospital Setting Without a Trauma Center: Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center (CMCVAMC) Experience

Abstract Introduction Platelet products have a limited shelf life and are costly. Hence, it remains crucial to balance clinical usage and wastage in a tertiary hospital setting without a trauma center. Considering this, an innovative system model was established to reduce wastage: the CMCVAMC—starting October 2017—arranged to transfer the platelet unit to a nearby facility with a trauma center when product has a short expiration date and there is no anticipated need for the product. This is a cost-effective measure to reduce platelet wastage and ensure the appropriate blood product availability. Method QA/QI data were reviewed to determine the degree of platelet wastage both a year prior to the implementation of this platelet transfer to another facility and after the past implementation of this transfer to February 2019. The cost of each platelet product was determined from the blood supplier (American Red Cross). From these comparisons prior to and after implementation, a determination of reduction of product wastage and cost savings was made. Results Since the implementation of this platelet transfer, there have been no platelets expiring on the shelf. In contrast, from October 2016 to October 2017 prior to implementation of platelet transfer, platelet products were often wasted or expired. In contrast, from October 2017 to February 2019, there has been no wastage of platelets. Conclusion This is a highly effective model for a tertiary hospital without a trauma center to bring in house platelets without wastage of a costly product while maintaining appropriate availability of the product. This quality improvement system study demonstrates that the measure resulted in significant savings and this serves as a model for other similar facilities. This is an innovative, easy to implement, and cost-effective system model that can be used in other tertiary facilities without a trauma center.

Characteristics of transfusion-transmitted Babesia microti, American Red Cross 2010-2017.

Babesia microti, a red blood cell (RBC) parasite transmitted naturally to vertebrate hosts by ixodid ticks, is endemic to the northeastern and upper midwestern United States, with the geographic range of infected ticks expanding. B. microti is a blood safety issue with >200 transfusion-transmissions reported. The American Red Cross's Hemovigilance program investigated hospital-reported transfusion-transmitted babesiosis (TTB) cases. Follow-up samples from involved donors were tested for B. microti antibodies and parasite DNA, the latter by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Test-positive donors were permanently deferred from future donations. B. microti-positive donors were implicated in 77 of 143 suspect TTB cases investigated from 2010 through 2017. In four cases, two positive donors were identified for a total of 81 positive donors. In three cases, a RBC unit was split and components transfused multiple times to the same pediatric recipient. RBCs were the transmitting product in all cases. At follow-up, all involved donors were antibody positive; 25 donors were also PCR positive. Positive donations were collected throughout the year, peaking in the summer. Most donors (78) were resident of, or traveled to (2), an endemic state. One donor resided in a non-endemic state without relevant travel history. One fatality listed babesia as a contributing factor. No implicated donation was screened by an investigational protocol. Babesiosis remains a blood safety issue. Prior to FDA-licensed screening test availability and final FDA Guidance, blood collectors in endemic states investigationally tested none, a portion, or all collections. Future expanded testing will reduce the frequency of TTB cases.

Disaster-Related Shelter Surveillance During the Hurricane Harvey Response - Texas 2017.

Hurricane Harvey left a path of destruction in its wake, resulting in over 100 deaths and damaging critical infrastructure. During a disaster, public health surveillance is necessary to track emerging illnesses and injuries, identify at-risk populations, and assess the effectiveness of response efforts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Red Cross collaborate on shelter surveillance to monitor the health of the sheltered population and help guide response efforts. We analyzed data collected from 24 Red Cross shelters between August 25, 2017, and September 14, 2017. We described the aggregate morbidity data collected during Harvey compared with previous hurricanes (Gustav, Ike, and Sandy). Over one-third (38%) of reasons for visit were for health care maintenance; 33% for acute illnesses, which includes respiratory conditions, gastrointestinal symptoms, and pain; 19% for exacerbation of chronic disease; 7% for mental health; and 4% for injury. The Red Cross treated 41% of clients within the shelters; however, reporting of disposition was often missed. These results are comparable to previous hurricanes. The capacity of Red Cross shelter staff to address the acute health needs of shelter residents is a critical resource for local public health agencies overwhelmed by the disaster. However, there remains room for improvement because reporting remained inconsistent.