On November 19, Frontier Nursing University (FNU), along with healthcare providers across the country, will come together to celebrate National Rural Health Day (NRHD). NRHD gives the healthcare community a chance to celebrate the community-minded, “can do” spirit that prevails in rural America while bringing light to the unique healthcare challenges that rural citizens face and showcasing the dedicated work of rural healthcare providers.
In previous years, FNU had celebrated with a weekend of virtual events educating others on the importance of rural health and spreading best practices to other healthcare providers. Last year’s CE session hosted by Dean of Nursing, Dr. Slager, can still be viewed here through the end of the year. With the ongoing pandemic this year, FNU had to make the difficult choice to allocate efforts elsewhere and instead continued to focus on the mission they share with NRHD of bringing quality care to rural communities.
Throughout the year, FNU students, faculty and alumni have been out on the frontlines fighting COVID-19 in rural communities. Some examples of FNU frontliners include Jamie Westlund, serving in rural Hawaii amidst a PPE shortage, Korah Schwab extending COVID-19 care to rural immigrant communities in N. C., and Kevin Scalf, PMHNP-BC, who has been increasing mental health care for citizens of rural Eastern Ky. It has been a challenging year, but even a pandemic can’t stop FNU from extending care to underserved communities.
Those interested in joining FNU to further rural community outreach can take NRHD’s Power of Rural Pledge and commit to advocating for rural communities in four ways throughout the coming year.
Collaboration
Seek out new relationships that will bring additional resources into the rural healthcare fold. Once these relationships are established, it becomes easier to share ideas, resources and information as supporters work together in the common interest of rural health and wellness.
Communication
Use all available channels and mediums to spread the word about the Power of Rural. Stay connected with the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) throughout the year and then follow, like, forward, post, and pin stories, ideas, facts, and opportunities to further build partnerships with those working to make a difference in rural healthcare.
Innovation
Share facts and information about the need to improve access and outcomes in rural communities with those who influence policy and resource allocation. Then, inform those entering the healthcare workforce about the many fulfilling opportunities available in rural communities.
Education
Engage partners from non-healthcare industries to help create additional solutions to prevailing challenges by developing ideas, programs, and models that continue to transform and positively impact rural healthcare. Together we can explore and implement new approaches to reach these at-risk rural populations.
Although FNU’s primary focus is education, the university works hard each day to follow all four portions of the Power of Rural Pledge. FNU collaborates with existing rural nurse practitioners by engaging them as preceptors for their students and growing the network of nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives throughout rural America. A wide variety of FNU’s communications are also focused on spreading awareness about the importance of rural healthcare. Follow FNU on Facebook, Twitter, or visit their blog to keep up to date on rural health initiatives. Additionally, FNU is consistently updating methods and curriculum to best serve rural communities. One part of every Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student’s journey includes collaborating with their clinical site to lead a rapid cycle quality improvement project. These projects work to improve a specific area of the student’s clinical site to better care for the community they serve.
Individuals interested in working alongside FNU to advocate for NRHD can visit the NRHD website’s toolkit, which features an array of downloadable resources such as flyers, social media graphics, and event ideas that can be used to spread the word. Further support for NRHD can also be given through fiscal contributions here.
Since its foundation more than 80 years ago, FNU has been committed to serving rural communities and their unique healthcare needs. It is the university’s mission to continue supporting these communities by encouraging new health care workers to go out and provide care to these essential American regions.
Thank you to all of the FNU staff, faculty, students, and preceptors who make rural America a priority!
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).