The UAB Health System presented its 2009 Clinical Excellence in Nursing Awards May 7 in ceremonies at the Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium. The awards are presented annually as part of UAB’s National Nurses Week celebration.

May 8, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB Health System presented its 2009 Clinical Excellence in Nursing Awards May 7 in ceremonies at the Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium. The awards are presented annually as part of UAB's National Nurses Week celebration.

The Clinical Excellence in Nursing Awards are presented to professional nurses and nursing support staff who demonstrate their nursing knowledge, technical skills and clinical leadership within the UAB Health System. The award is the highest honor that can be achieved by a member of the nursing staff within the health system.

UAB Hospital Senior Associate Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Velinda Block, M.S.N., and UAB School of Nursing Dean Doreen Harper, Ph.D., presented the awards. Michael Waldrum M.D., UAB Hospital CEO, addressed the honorees.

UAB HOSPITAL

UAB CALLAHAN EYE FOUNDATION HOSPITAL

THE KIRKLIN CLINIC AT UAB

UAB HIGHLANDS

MEDICAL WEST

  • Excellence in Nursing Award: Bobbie Naugher
  • LPN Excellence in Nursing Award: Veronica Lowe

UAB SCHOOL OF NURSING

Annually, National Nurses Week begins on May 6, marked as National Nurses Day, and ends on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, founder of nursing as a modern profession. During this week, UAB nurses are honored with a number of events, continuing education classes, a talent show, storyboard presentations, a professional vendor fair, a lifestyle fair and Clinical Excellence Awards luncheon.

Traditionally, National Nurses Week is devoted to highlighting the diverse ways in which registered nurses, the largest health care profession, are working to improve health care. From bedside nursing in hospitals and long-term care facilities to the halls of research institutions, state legislatures and Congress, the depth and breadth of the nursing profession is meeting the expanding health care needs of American society.

About UAB

The UAB Health System includes all of UAB's patient care activities, including UAB Hospital, the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital, UAB Highlands, The Kirklin Clinic, UAB Health Centers, VIVA Health insurance company, and affiliates Medical West and Baptist Health Montgomery. UAB is the state of Alabama's largest employer and an internationally renowned research university and academic health center; find more information at www.uab.edu and www.uabmedicine.org.