Tamara Otey, class of 1984 and Carrie Jeffries, class of 1994 & 1996, were honored with the Barnes-Jewish College Alumni Association’s 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award. The two winners of the 2016 Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Awards, Tamara Otey and Carrie Jeffries, have taken quite diverse paths in their extraordinary careers. Venturing from the heart of the heartland each found their way more than 7,000 miles distant, to African nations where both have accomplished significant work.
Perhaps it should be no surprise though. Goldfarb nurses have an extensive track record of finding places across the globe where their talents are needed, no matter how remote the location.
Tamara Otey, PhD, RN
Otey, born and raised in the St. Louis area, started her studies in nursing at the Jewish Hospital School of Nursing in 1981. She began making regular traveling missions to Nigeria in 2004 to care for the underserved rural Imo State, providing medical consultations, training and equipment. Work has now begun on a permanent clinic for the residents there.
Throughout her career, Otey has been a powerful advocate for her patients and her colleagues. As a top nursing and healthcare administrator, Otey is an expert in managing the complicated matrix of demands between patients, staff and health care systems that make up the contemporary caregiving environment. After graduating from Jewish Hospital School of Nursing with an RN, she earned a BSN from the University of Memphis in 2000, an MSN from Union University in 2003, and a doctorate in nursing science with a minor in public health from Indiana University last year. She was appointed assistant professor at the Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing in early 2016.
Carrie Jeffries, MPH, MS, RN, NEA-BC,
ANP-BC, AACRN
Jeffries hails from nearby O’Fallon, Mo. Her work has taken her to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, as well as to Kenya, Zambia, and Liberia, where she was a public health advisor with USAID and the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative from 2007-2008.
While attending Jewish Hospital College, Jeffries earned her associate of science in nursing degree in 1994 and then earned her bachelors science in nursing in 1996. Her career is noteworthy for her work with the vulnerable and underserved at home and overseas. She has helped the Asian-Pacific Islander population in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, worked a needle exchange van in a hardscrabble neighborhood in West Baltimore and provided health care to displaced persons and a jungle camp in Thailand. Jeffries, who currently serves as chief nursing officer of the HIV/AIDS bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, holds an MSN from the University of California at San Francisco, an MPH from Johns Hopkins University, and is now pursuing a doctorate in nursing practice at George Washington University.
Past Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
The Distinguished Alumni Award was created to commemorate graduates each year who have made outstanding achievements in their professional careers, their communities, and in their own personal life journeys. The award recognizes extraordinary dedication and commitment to nursing service, research and education.
Candidates for the Distinguished Alumni Award are nominated by members of the Goldfarb community. Nominees must be a living graduate of Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing or a legacy school and must have graduated at least five years ago. In addition, nominees’ careers should reflect excellence in the discipline of nursing, and participation in professional and community activities.
Visit the Distinguished Alumni Award page to learn more, see full criteria and nominate an exceptional nurse for next year’s award!
Learn more about our awardees and their commitment to nursing education, research and service.
Tamara Otey, PhD, RN
Carrie Jeffries, MPH, MS, RN, NEA-BC,
ANP-BC, AACRN
