December 3, 2003

Kadie Fry, a nurse practitioner in the maternity clinic at Baptist Shelby Medical Center, and Wilma King, a nurse practitioner in the neonatal intensive care unit at UAB Hospital, are recipients of this year’s Jo Ann Barnett Award for Compassionate Nursing Care. The Alumni Chapter of the School of Nursing at UAB presents the award annually to graduates who exemplify the best in nursing by providing heart-felt care.

Fry, a 2000 graduate of the school, was nominated by co-workers and friends. According to her nomination, combining her education with her desire to do the right thing, she champions care for her patients on a daily basis. Helping financially strapped moms pay for prescriptions is just one example. “Because of her compassion and caring, many women and their babies are benefiting today.”

King received her bachelor’s of science in nursing degree from UAB in 1980 and her master’s of science in nursing degree from UAB in 1992. According to King’s nomination, “she strives to provide exceptional patient care, working tirelessly, never leaving any job partially done. Many nurses come and go, but King has remained, never losing her compassion or ability to care for these infants.”

The award is named in honor Jo Ann Barnett, a graduate of the School of Nursing at UAB who worked as a nurse practitioner in the newborn intensive care unit at UAB Hospital prior to her death in 2002.