Cherron R. Galluzzo

Government Organization Dedicated to the Protection of the United States

National

Ms. Galluzzo's expertise includes medical and surgical nursing and suspensions from higher headquarters or the wing.

Defense

American Journal of Nursing

Spending Time with her Family, Reading

Master's Degree in Military Operational Art & Science (2007); Master's Degree in Management and Human Resource Development, Webster University (2000); Bachelor of Science in Nursing, The University of Akron (1993); Certified Registered Nurse

Ohio Nurses Association; American Nurses Association

Military Nursing

In Galluzzo's last semester of nursing school at the University of Akron in Ohio, an Air Force recruiter offered her a free trip on a
C-130 military aircraft to tour a hospital on Eglin Air Force Base in northwest Florida. "Imagine being a cash-strapped college student from Ohio and having the opportunity to loll on a beach, stay in officers' quarters, and meet fighter pilots," she says with a laugh. "How could I refuse?"
After meeting Air Force nurses on the job and experiencing the camaraderie among the other potential nurse recruits, Galluzzo was hooked. She submitted her Air Force application and shortly after graduation was selected for the Nurse Corps. Thus began a distinguished nursing career that continues to take her not only around the country, but around the world.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
One of the highlights of her military career occurred when she deployed to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). She arrived March 11, 2003, a week prior to the beginning of the ground offensive for Operation Iraqi Freedom. As acting chief nurse, she established a clinic from the ground up in an austere locale.
"Austere" is putting it mildly, says Galluzzo. She and her team arrived in the desert staging area before tent housing was set up, security put in place, and communications made operational. "Our clinic," she says, "consisted of a chair, a stretcher, and a table."
Dehydration was a problem in the 100-degree heat. There was no refrigeration and no air conditioning. Waves of troops kept arriving for smallpox and anthrax vaccinations before heading off to combat. During Galluzzo's tour of duty, she oversaw 1,400 clinic visits, 950 immunizations, and 25 medical evacuations.
"We had to ramp up quickly as our patient population grew from 200 to 1,000 in just 10 days," she recalls.
Leadership in the Field
Achieving the most basic nursing requirements - infection control, good record keeping, and a safe workplace - became a test of resourcefulness under rigorous conditions. How do you dispose of dirty needles? How do you deal with the fine grains of sand that get into everything? How do you ensure that your food and water supply is safe? As an example, the medical team had to make certain that food supplied through UAE contracts was in compliance with safety codes. "Women have a different role in the Middle East," says Galluzzo, whose job was to check facilities' cleanliness and refrigeration. "Having a woman inspect conditions was a very sensitive situation."
Infection control in makeshift camps was a huge public health concern. "When 200 women use seven showers and 800 men use 40 showers every day," says Galluzzo, "fungus can be a real problem. Everyone had to be educated to disinfect the showers after use." Troops also had to be reminded to properly dispose of spore-infected bandages used to cover anthrax inoculation sites.
Galluzzo had to cope not only with clinic duties, but dicey diplomatic incidents. One night, 4,300 gallons of jet fuel was spilled on desert sand. "A fuel spill can create an international crisis in a host country," says Galluzzo. "We had to be sure all protocols were met, that the spill was cleaned up quickly. As the medical consultant, I had to organize toxicology screens for everyone involved in the incident."
After her successful tour in the UAE, for which she receive a medal of commendation, Galluzzo returned to her nurse manager position at MacDill Air Force Base, where her duties included developing a Homeland Defense initiative to increase the 6th Medical Group's readiness to respond to a potential weapons-of-mass-destruction event.
Mentoring Baby Nurses a Priority
Lt. Col. Patti Parker, USAF, NC, medical operations squadron deputy commander for the 6th Medical Group at MacDill, says that Capt. Galluzzo is not a manager who sits behind her desk. "She is the consummate leader, always out on the floor teaching and mentoring her nurses," says Parker. "She recognized the need for young nurses to have experience in a high-volume, high-census environment and developed a unique program to rotate her 'baby nurses' through our busier ambulatory same-day surgery unit and postanesthesia care unit."
Galluzzo loves the adventure and variety of military nursing. This month, she transfers to her new duty station in the Primary Care Optimization Clinic at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. She's excited about working in an outpatient setting, which fills a gap in her nursing experience. "The military allows you to try on many shoes during your career," she says. "In order to be an asset to the Air Force Nurse Corps, I really need this experience in an area that is growing rapidly in today's military healthcare."
Asked if working in a stateside clinic will be a bit mundane after her desert experience, Galluzzo looks on the bright side. "I won't have to battle sand," she says. "And I can eat something besides chicken and spaghetti, so it'll be great." She also plans to pursue a master's in management resource development.
"I'm honored to be selected as Nursing Spectrum's Florida Nurse of the Year," says Galluzzo. "In the military, we're always preparing to pass the baton to nurses who will take our place when we leave. I'm the product of awesome mentors, and now as a mentor myself, I feel it's my duty to pass that baton to our younger nurses as they advance in their nursing careers."

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Capt. Cherron R. Galluzzo, RN, USAF, NC, multiservice unit nurse manager with the 6th Medical Group at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, graduated from nursing school in 1993 and began looking for work. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that one day she would be asked to practice her clinical skills in a tent in the desert, coping with blowing sand, rampant fungus, meager supplies, and foreign diplomacy.
But the qualities that helped Galluzzo handle these and other professional challenges are among the many reasons she has been named Florida Nurse of the Year.

Maintaining Responsibility for the 15th Air Mobility Operations Squadron

Certification in Medical-Surgical Nursing (2002)

Florida Nurse of the Year (2004); Air Force Nurse of the Year (2004)