[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 15, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E7]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E7]]
                        TRIBUTE TO BRENNA AILEO

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER P. CARNEY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 15, 2008

  Mr. CARNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Brenna Aileo, a 
U.S. recipient of the International Committee of the Red Crosses, ICRC, 
41st Annual Florence Nightingale Medal. Every 2 years, this medal is 
awarded to qualified nurses who have shown exceptional courage and 
devotion to the wounded, sick, or disabled or to civilian victims of a 
conflict or disaster; and to those who have shown a creative and 
pioneering spirit in the areas of public health or nursing education.
  Mrs. Aileo earned a BSN degree from Eastern Washington State 
University and an MA in Health Services Management from Webster 
University in St. Louis. She served as a nurse in the U.S. Army for 21 
years, including 2 years of enlistment and 19 years as a commissioned 
officer in the Army Nurse Corps where she achieved the rank of 
lieutenant colonel. Her posts included the Walter Reed Army Medical 
Center in Washington, DC and the 85th Evacuation Hospital in Dhahran, 
Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia she treated wounded U.S. soldiers, 
including many from a Pennsylvania-based unit who were injured in a 
mortar attack.
  In response to the attacks on September 11, Mrs. Aileo began 
volunteering with the American Red Cross. She worked with disaster 
relief at Ground Zero and at other disaster locations throughout the 
United States and Guam. During a flood in my district in 2006, Mrs. 
Aileo heroically managed a shelter at Blue Ridge High School in New 
Milford, PA.
  Since 2001, she has worked at the local, regional, and national 
levels. As the first appointed service area staff health volunteer 
consultant in Susquehanna County, Mrs. Aileo distinguished herself by 
developing and presenting key disaster training programs. In 2004, Mrs. 
Aielo worked as a health consultant for the Red Cross Armed Forces 
Emergency Services, where she reviewed and cleared staff for overseas 
deployment. No staff member who Mrs. Aielo cleared has returned from a 
deployment due to medical reasons.
  Mrs. Aileo's professional experience includes working as a community 
health nurse administrator for the Pennsylvania Department of Health's 
Northeast District and as a nursing supervisor for the Northeast 
Veterans Center in Scranton. She also worked as a charge nurse in the 
Montrose General Hospital ICU and as an instructor at Walter Reed Army 
Medical Center.
  As an active member of our community, Mrs. Aileo sits on the Board of 
Directors of the Garden Club Federation, Susquehanna County Library, 
and her church. Her interests include gardening, wine making, and 
travel. Her son, Jason, continuing Mrs. Aileo's tremendous dedication 
to public service, served in Iraq from 2003 to 2004.
  In closing, Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
recognizing Mrs. Brenna Aileo for her continued service to our country.

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