Impacted by a Caring Nurse Practitioner
In his position as Executive Director of Administrative Operations for the UAB School of Nursing, Craig Anderson has the opportunity to learn about many ways that those in the nursing profession reach out to help others.
However, it was through his own personal experience that the value of nursing came home to him firsthand. “When I first started having health issues with diabetes and blood pressure, I was confused, struggling to really understand everything,” said Anderson. Then one day he was referred to a nurse practitioner. “When I met with this nurse practitioner, she answered every question I had, explaining it as many times as needed,” said Anderson. “She would look at me and say, ‘Okay, tell me what I just said.’ If l didn’t repeat everything correctly, she explained it again in a different way.”
Anderson said this nurse practitioner made such a positive impact on his health care that “now I won’t go to a medical practice that doesn’t have a nurse practitioner.”
To show their gratitude and to support nurse education, Craig Anderson and his wife, Melissa, are funding three UAB School of Nursing scholarships over a five-year period. The Anderson Family DNP Veterans Scholarship will benefit students enrolled in the School’s Doctor of Nursing Practice curriculum, with preference given to scholarship applicants who have past or current active-duty military service. Through the Anderson Family Scholarship for Joint Enrollment Pathway to the Bachelor’s in Nursing, preference will go to applicants jointly enrolled in a community college and the UAB School of Nursing, who are concurrently earning an Associate Degree in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Through the Anderson Family Scholarship for Psych-Mental Health Nursing, preference will go to applicants who are interested in practicing nursing in the field of psychiatric-mental health nursing.
An Endowed Scholarship Influenced by Two Nursing Careers
A new endowed scholarship at the UAB School of Nursing reflects the nursing careers of the husband and wife who donated funds to establish the scholarship.
The scholarship reflects the career of Gregory “Greg” Eagerton in guiding nursing care for Veterans and Sallie Russell Eagerton’s career in providing nursing care to cancer patients. The Greg and Sallie Russell Eagerton Endowed Scholarship in Nursing will give preference to scholarship applicants who are Veterans or dependents of Veterans and to those interested in oncology nursing.
Both Eagertons are UAB School of Nursing graduates. Greg, who worked in a health care system for Veterans for more than three decades, earned his BSN and MSN degrees at UAB and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice at Samford University. Sallie earned her BSN degree at UAB, and knew when she entered nursing school that she wanted to become an oncology/hematology nurse.
Currently an Associate Professor at the UAB School of Nursing, Greg said this scholarship resulted from his and Sallie’s discussions about giving back. “Sallie and I reached a point in our lives when it became very important to us to have a legacy that included giving back,” he said.
Sallie Eagerton’s goals led to her participating in both inpatient and outpatient nursing care for cancer patients. A 2011 inductee into the Alabama Nursing Hall of Fame, Greg was a nursing leader in the health care system for Veterans operated by the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). During his career, Greg spent years as Chief Nursing Officer of the Birmingham VA Health System. “This endowed scholarship feels great to Sallie and me,” said Greg. “We love that it will have lasting impact. We also love that it’s based at the UAB School of Nursing, where we both received the foundations for our professional lives.”
In Memory of Someone Who Contributed to Others
During her career as a Program Administrator and Program Manager at UAB, Carol Spears Chambless carried out work touching the lives of those with Alzheimer’s disease, patients with serious health conditions who needed palliative care, and those suffering from cancer.
The contributions of Carol, who died in 2023, are being honored through an endowed scholarship in her memory based at the UAB School of Nursing, where she spent part of her career.
The Carol S. Chambless Endowed Scholarship in Nursing is funded by a gift from her sister and brother-in-law, longtime Birmingham architects Susan and Robert Stewart. First preference for scholarship applicants will go to those interested in pursuing nursing careers in clinical trials for new patient treatments.
Carol took on leadership roles in several areas:
As a Program Manager at the UAB Alzheimer’s Disease Center, she was involved in UAB initiatives to combat a devastating neurodegenerative disease.
As a Program Manager for the UAB School of Nursing, she helped manage a project funded by the American Cancer Society to bring palliative care to patients in rural and remote settings. As a Program Manager at UAB’s O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, she helped implement one of the nation’s first oncology patient navigation programs – to connect cancer patients with needed support.
The scholarship bearing Carol’s name will support education – in this case, the education of nurses. The scholarship honors someone who believed in education. With a lifetime love of art, Carol held an Auburn University bachelor’s degree in fine arts. At UAB, where she was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, she earned master’s degrees both in public health and in business administration. She never stopped learning. In 2021, Carol participated in a UAB program called LEAD (Learn Enhance Advance Drive), designed to build a pipeline of future leaders.