Mark Laubacher on "The U.S.S. Red Rover: Hospital of Firsts" 

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To adequately treat illness and trauma afflicted upon military personnel during the US Civil War, a true military hospital ship for use on internal waterways was built. Originally, USS Red Rover was a hospital ship for the Union Army's Western Gunboat Flotilla operating on the Mississippi River. Red Rover would go on to become the first US Naval hospital ship in late December 1862. This was a hospital of many firsts, commencing with females who served as nurses aboard Red Rover. They were paid crew members, working in various capacities comprised of African Americans and a group Sisters of the Holy Cross of St. Mary from Notre Dame in Indiana. Ultimately, 8 African American women were on the Navy payroll by the end of the war, including Ann Stokes, who would eventually earn the title of "nurse," and go on to draw a pension from the Federal government following the war. The success of the Red Rover was a direct result of the contribution of civilian women working as nurses aboard the vessel. From June 11, 1862, to March 31, 1865, Red Rover admitted 1697 patients and touted a survival rate of over 90%. The injuries and illnesses of the sailors of the gunboats ran a broad spectrum. Such women pioneers would ultimately lead to the creation of the US Navy Nurse Corps in 1908.

Mark Laubacher is an RN and paramedic working as a Certified Specialist in Poison Information since 1992 at the Central Ohio Poison Center located at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. Prior to this, he was a full-time staff nurse at Children's Emergency Department for 4 years. He received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Capital University in 1989. He is also currently a faculty member for Grant Medical Center Paramedic Program in Columbus, Ohio. Having delivered over 500 presentations, he routinely presents at the state and national levels on various topics of toxicological emergencies.