UA professor named first non-Canadian member of Canada’s Order of Red Cross

“In service.”

With these words, Dr. Jeffrey Pellegrino signs off his emails to colleagues in the American and Canadian Red Cross.

With these words, Pellegrino’s entire life is defined.

Dr. Jeffrey Pellegrino wearing his Order of the Red Cross medal, awarded at a surprise celebration at the Hudson Fire Department.

In recognition of his extraordinary humanitarian service at home and abroad, Pellegrino — an assistant professor in the Department of Disaster Science and Emergency Services at The University of Akron (UA) — recently became the first non-Canadian inducted into the Order of the Red Cross, the highest honor bestowed by the Canadian Red Cross.

Over the past 34 years, the New York-born Pellegrino has served the American and Canadian Red Cross in various capacities, ranging from disaster volunteer and first aid instructor to scientific expert, policymaker and author of first aid guidelines and procedures.

“I have known only two other recipients of this honor, and their caliber as humanitarians makes me feel very humble to be in their company,” said Pellegrino, one of this year’s nine inductees into the order, which has comprised more than 300 members in its 36 years of existence. “Now I feel even more bonded to the mission of service and to the fundamental principles of the Red Cross, and to all those who serve through the Canadian Red Cross.”

Pellegrino is not just bonded to those principles — he perfectly embodies them, according to Don Marentette, Canadian Red Cross director of first aid education and one of the many sponsors of Pellegrino’s induction.

“In my 30 years of service to both military and civilian communities across the world, I can confidently say that Jeffrey is the best human I have had the pleasure of meeting,” Marentette said. “If you were to look up the definitions of our seven Fundamental Principles — Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity, Universality — you would see Jeffrey in every one of them.”

Family tradition

Pellegrino began working with the Red Cross in New York as a disaster volunteer at age 15. He became an instructor during his freshman year at Loyola University Maryland, where he studied political science, before receiving his doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Dayton.

Dr. Jeffrey Pellegrino and (from left) his daughter Rosa; wife, Lisa; and daughter Grace, at a surprise celebration of his induction into the Order of the Red Cross, at the Hudson Fire Department.

“My Jesuit and Marianist training instilled the vocation for education for peace and justice,” he said. “First aid is the avenue that I can connect with everyone.”

While pursuing a career in higher education, Pellegrino continued his work with the Red Cross. In 2005, he was selected to serve on what is now called the Scientific Advisory Council, a North American collaborative of experts in first aid, resuscitation, aquatics and disaster.

Through this collaborative, he helped construct a philosophical and political model to develop evidence-based first aid standards across the provinces and territories of Canada. He also hosted workshops for the Canadian Council for First Aid Education, as well as several international meetings and conferences.

In addition to serving in Canada — as well as teaching first aid throughout the world, including in Africa, Asia and Europe — Pellegrino has been serving his local community. In 2007, he moved to Hudson, Ohio, and began volunteering at the local fire department as an EMT and EMT instructor. He has been a volunteer firefighter since 2013 and is on the Summit County Technical Rescue Operations Team.

“It’s a family tradition,” he said. “My father is a fallen firefighter/EMT, and he received the Presidential Award of Merit for saving a life, although he had done a lot more than that. It was CPR that gave us a few more weeks with him before he ultimately passed.”

Drawn to UA

In 2015, Pellegrino was awarded the Clara Barton Award for Meritorious Volunteer Leadership from the American Red Cross. That same year, he became the director of the health sciences program and principal investigator for the Survival Behaviors Lab at Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences in Canton, Ohio. 

Dr. Jeffrey Pellegrino presenting at the 2018 International First Aid Education Conference.

This past summer, Pellegrino joined UA’s Department of Disaster Science and Emergency services, which offers the world’s first accredited bachelor’s degree in emergency management and homeland security (EMHS), as well as Ohio’s only accredited program in fire protection technology.

“One of the reasons I chose to join UA was that Dr. Stacy Willett, professor and one of the founders of UA’s renowned EMHS program, is a national expert and champion of student engagement academically and professionally,” he said. “Her energy and reputation for excellence of students and contributions to the field were the major draw to UA. I wanted to be part of that experience and meld my own experience to see what new things could come out.”

Recently, as an example of that student engagement, Pellegrino has been working with Sam Hudik, a sophomore EMHS major, to study building resiliency in disaster situations.

In early October, Hudik joined Pellegrino and Dr. Rita Burke, from the University of Southern California, to prepare and deliver a virtual presentation on resilience at the Survival 2020 International Red Cross First Aid, Injury Prevention and Aquatics Education Conference, Canada’s largest conference promoting first aid and swimming and water safety.

“Through my experience working with Dr. Pellegrino, I have come to know a hard-working, dedicated man who truly cares about the well-being of those in the community, and I have the utmost respect for him,” Hudik said. “Helping him and Dr. Burke prepare for the conference allowed me to observe the time and effort required for professional presentations and was an excellent learning opportunity.”

The greatest reward

Pellegrino, the editor in chief of the International Journal of First Aid Education, is also the lead author of an important paper that appeared in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, in October.

The paper, “2020 American Heart Association and American Red Cross Focused Update for First Aid,” provides updates to several first aid procedures, including the immediate treatment of life-threatening bleeding, the use of aspirin for chest pain, the recognition of stroke, and cooling techniques for hyperthermia and heatstroke.

The updated procedures and guidelines are being adopted by the American Heart Association, American Red Cross and UA’s College of Health Professions in their educational materials.

What is most rewarding to Pellegrino, though, is not the recognition he has received through organizations, publications and awards, but something far greater.

“When it all comes together in actual lives saved, the reward is indescribable.”

Media contact: Cristine Boyd, 330-972-6476 or cboyd @uakron.edu.