Clara C. Frye (1872–1936) was an American nurse inTampa,Florida who established theClara Frye Hospital, where she worked for 20 years in the early 1900s. Frye's hospital admitted patients of all ethnicities.
Frye moved to Tampa in 1901 and in 1908 opened a hospital for black patients in her home,[1] making it Tampa's only hospital to admit Black people.[2] Her dining room table was theoperating table.[1] Frye was the only permanent employee of the hospital.[2] A building was secured in 1923 and was purchased by theCity of Tampa in 1928.[1] At the time, the Tampa Municipal Hospital, nowTampa General Hospital, did not admitAfrican American patients. This changed in the 1950s.
The Clara Frye Memorial Hospital that existed in West Tampa from 1938 to 1967 was named after her. The original Tampa General Hospital building was renamed after Frye in 1991. Frye will also be immortalized along with other prominent Tampa historical figures on theTampa Riverwalk with abronze bust.[1]
A memorial garden atWater Works Park (Tampa) honors her legacy.
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