In 1898, during the Spanish–American War, Jane Delano became a member of the New York Chapter of the American Red Cross and served as the secretary for the enrollment of nurses.

Through her efforts, emergency response teams were organized for disaster relief and over 8,000 registered nurses were trained and ready for duty by the time the United States entered World War I.

Awarded the Distinguished Service Medal posthumously, following her 1919 death her remains were brought back to the United States by the Army Quartermaster Corps and re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

A detachment of Army troops and a military band from Fort Myers acted as an escort for the body when it was taken to the grave from the vault at Arlington Cemetery.

She was named to the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame and at Schuyler County Hospital in Dix, New York there is a Jane Delano Memorial with a display of personal items including a number of her awards and medals.