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  • Alumni Spotlight: Tanya Bailey & Daniela Paul

    At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

     

    Alumnae Tanya Bailey, FACNM, and Daniela Paul, CNM, have used their Frontier Nursing University (FNU) education to make a major impact on the women in their Greensboro, N.C., community.

     

    The pair opened Magnolia Birth Center of Midwifery & Women’s Health in March of this year. In addition to prenatal care and natural out-of-hospital childbirth, the center offers a variety of classes, seminars and support groups.

     

    Magnolia invites hospitals and organizations from around the Greensboro area to offer its services to patients. Doing so avoids duplication of services while providing women with access to a variety of health care options. Additional services will be added based on patients’ requests.

     

    Magnolia’s open-door policy creates an atmosphere of acceptance and comfort for women.

     

    “We welcome anyone from the community regardless of being a client of Magnolia, and we have business sponsors to cover costs for women who cannot afford to pay for services,” said Tanya.

     

    Daniela and Tanya have plenty of experience serving together. Tanya was Daniela’s mentor and guide in her first certified nurse-midwife position at Wendover Ob-Gyn & Infertility. While Tanya was at Wendover for 10 years, Daniela moved to Arizona with her family and worked full scope midwifery for the Chinle IHS on the Navajo Nation. Daniela relocated her family back to Greensboro to join Tanya in opening Magnolia.

     

    Tanya chose to become a nurse-midwife out of her desire to make a difference in her community.

     

    “I needed a distance learning program to be able to stay home with my small children. Frontier was my first and only choice,” said Tanya.


    According to Daniela and Tanya, they were inspired by legendary nurse-midwives Kitty Ernst and Ruth Lubic, whose dissertation formed their vision for the Magnolia center. Dr. Lubic attended the ribbon cutting ceremony to offer the blessing of hands for the staff.

     

    Read about Magnolia’s grand opening and its impact on the Greensboro community here.

     

    Thank you, Daniela and Tanya, for serving your community and honorably representing FNU!

  • Frontier Nursing University to Establish New Campus

     

    Hyden, KY — Frontier Nursing University (FNU), with its historic campus based in Hyden, Ky., has reached a pivotal time in its 78-year history. FNU will be moving student activities including all of the on-campus student sessions to a newly purchased property in Versailles, Ky. The move will allow FNU to better serve students and continue its longstanding commitment to the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to provide care to women and families with a focus on those in rural and underserved areas. FNU will maintain operation of the Wendover Bed & Breakfast Inn, the historic log cabin home of FNU founder Mary Breckinridge, in Wendover, Ky., near Hyden.

     

    FNU honors its southeastern Kentucky roots but in order to continue the FNU traditions of learning and excellence in education, an expansion to a larger and more conveniently located campus was needed. The decision was made by FNU administration and Board of Directors as plans were developed for the new Versailles property and it became clear that it was not feasible to operate two campuses. The move to the new campus will allow FNU to continue to expand enrollment — currently nearly 2,000 students — and also improve program offerings in order to meet the growing demand for access to quality healthcare nationwide, especially in rural and underserved areas. We will continue to recruit, educate, and graduate nurses to increase access to quality healthcare for rural communities everywhere, including Leslie County. The change to the new Versailles campus will not lead to additional tuition increases or financial burdens passed on to students.  

     

    FNU’s founder Mary Breckinridge established the Frontier Nursing Service and what is Frontier Nursing University today as part of her mission to provide care to women and families with a focus on those in rural and underserved areas. FNU is focused on educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to serve families with an emphasis on rural and underserved to keep Mary Breckinridge’s vision alive. FNU moved to a community-based distance education delivery in 1989 and since has been offering all programs in this format. The goal is to reach nurses in rural and underserved areas allowing access to graduate education to become nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners and in turn better serve their communities. Mary Breckinridge’s vision of increasing access to healthcare and improving lives of families is now accomplished worldwide through the work of FNU graduates.

     

    The new 67-acre campus in that FNU purchased in Versailles will continue to keep the University in a rural county but is also less than ten minutes from the Lexington Bluegrass Airport and accessible from major highways. The new Versailles campus will allow for more cutting edge teaching and learning facilities and an increased amount of lodging for students and faculty. The new space will have approximately 85 offices, dorms accommodating up to 90 people, faculty and staff housing for 18, a dining hall that can accommodate nearly 100 people and expanded education and simulation facilities.  

     

    FNU’s vision is that the opening of the Versailles Campus will permanently establish Frontier Nursing University as the leader in advanced nursing and midwifery education, as a national model of excellence for distance learning for advanced nursing and as the heart of the nurse-midwifery profession for the United States. In addition to hosting students, the new campus can be used for gathering leaders in the nursing and midwifery field for national and regional meetings.

     

    All plans are tentative but FNU expects renovations on the campus to begin in fall 2017 with the Lexington Administrative offices moving to the Versailles campus in early spring of 2018. The target date for students to begin attending orientations and clinical sessions on the Versailles campus is fall 2018.

     

    Our Hyden employees have the opportunity to continue to work with FNU in our new location and some positions will be maintained  at the Wendover Bed & Breakfast Inn. We plan to offer all incoming Frontier students with optional tours to visit Hyden and Wendover in addition to their trip to the Versailles campus. There are no solid plans for use of the Hyden campus, but we will keep the community apprised of developments and we do wish to see it put to good use for the community.

     

    The decision to move FNU to a new location was not made lightly and has been considered for years as our student enrollment continues to grow. While we understand the implications for discontinuing the Hyden campus, it is in the best interests of FNU’s mission and vision for the future.

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    About Frontier Nursing University:

    The mission of FNU is to educate nurses to become competent, entrepreneurial, ethical and compassionate nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners who are leaders in the primary care of women and families with an emphasis on underserved and rural populations. FNU offers graduate Nurse-Midwifery and Nurse-Practitioner distance education programs that can be pursued full- or part-time with the student’s home community serving as the classroom.  Degrees and options offered include Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or Post-Graduate Certificates. To learn more about FNU and the programs and degrees offered, please visit Frontier.edu.

  • FNU Courier Spotlight: Carlyle Carter

    At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

     

    In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.

     

    Carlyle Carter was 10 years old the first time she met her cousin, Mary Breckinridge. Mary came to visit Carlyle’s grandmother’s farm and invited Carlyle to visit Frontier that summer. Carlyle took her up on the offer and traveled to Wendover where she was looked after by Agnes Lewis, Kate Ireland, and Jane Leigh Powell.

    After this visit, Carlyle returned to Wendover a few more times while she was in high school, where she spent time with Mary, groomed the horses, and even rode on horseback with a nurse. Carlyle’s mother helped found Frontier Nursing Service (FNS), and her father and cousin were the first Couriers.

    It wasn’t until 1962, while she was attending college, that Carlyle traveled to Wendover to officially serve as a Courier. She enjoyed her experiences so much so that she returned three years later in 1965, after Mary Breckinridge had passed away, to serve as a Courier one more time.

    As a Courier, Carlyle recalls learning to drive a stick shift in the FNS jeeps. Carlyle remembers driving a British nurse everywhere she needed to go as the nurse was not able to drive in America. On one occasion, Carlyle drove the nurse to a small cabin with no electricity where a mother was in labor. She was able to help deliver a baby by holding the flashlight so the nurse could see.

    Shortly after, Carlyle was sent on a mission to take two horses from the hospital to one of the centers. On the mission, they got lost in the woods. They were following a hand drawn map but unfortunately, were caught in a downpour of rain. Thankfully, they were able to find their way back to where they started.

    Carlyle enjoyed the Kentucky cooking during her stays at Wendover. She remembers that the butter was always homemade, and the milk that was served was not pasteurized; it came directly from the cow. These delicious meals were generally served in the dogtrot between the living room and the kitchen in the Big House by Wendover cooks.

    In reflecting upon her time with Mary Breckinridge, Carlyle remembers that family was very important to her. She would welcome visitors and often times share stories about her family and about FNS.

    According to Carlyle, Mary was a very worldly woman as well as an inspirational speaker. Her ability to move a crowd and hit their hearts was astonishing. Breckinridge would talk about life in the mountains for the people of Leslie County, particularly the financial and economic struggles along with healthcare difficulties that many of the Appalachian people faced. She also spoke to the importance of FNS in the community as many of the community members had not previously had access to healthcare.

    “Mary Breckinridge had a glowing personality,” said Carlyle. “She had kind eyes and loved little children. She was very kind but she was also a very determined woman. She was the boss and you didn’t cross her. She was very simple. There was nothing pretentious about her.”

    The time Carlyle spent in Wendover had a significant impact on her life. It inspired her to want to do something worthwhile in the world. She began an organization called Global Child, an after-school program that provided foreign language instruction in the public schools. It was one of the first programs of its time. It continued to grow and eventually reached 60 schools with about 2,000 students. To learn more about the organization Global Child, please visit http://www.globalchild.com/home.html.

    Carlyle attributes her inspiration for starting this program to Mary Breckenridge:

    “She wasn’t in there for personal good—she was doing something good for the world, and that is how she influenced me!”

     

  • FNU Nurse-Midwifery Grad Receives Worldwide Attention

     

    One Frontier Nursing University (FNU) nurse-midwifery graduate received worldwide attention this past month after leaving mid-hair appointment to attend a birth. Did we mention her highlight foils were still in-tact? Carrie Lee-Hall, a certified nurse-midwife, was a couple miles away from the hospital at the hair salon when she received word that her patient was ready to deliver. Without wasting a moment, she took off to the hospital where the baby arrived less than 20 minutes later.

    “First time for everything!” Hall posted on Facebook with a photo of her holding the baby. “Thought I’d share. I was at the salon and nature called!”

    We weren’t surprised when the image quickly went viral after sharing the photo on our FNU Facebook page. Domestic and international news outlets picked up the story, causing thousands of people to be both enthralled and amused by Carrie’s quick response that caused her to deliver a baby with foiled hair.

    While the scenario gave us a chuckle, the FNU community is also proud to have alumni like Carrie who are so dedicated to their patient’s care.

    “Many people on social media joked that I should have taken out the foils before I left the salon for the sake of not harming my hair, but when I got that phone call nothing was more important than getting to my patient,” said Carrie. “My patients are my first priority and there is nowhere I’d rather be than helping them safely bring new life into the world.”

    For Hall, a fourth-generation midwife, caring for mothers and babies is second-hand nature. With a focus on serving rural areas, Carrie became the first Certified Nurse-Midwife in many years to practice in Hazard, Ky. In addition to a master’s degree in nurse-midwifery, Carrie returned to FNU to obtain both a Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner certification and a Family Nurse Practitioner certification  so that she can treat families as a whole. She is also a sexual assault nurse examiner.

    As Kitty Ernst, FNU Mary Breckinridge Chair of Midwifery, once said, “The ‘heart’ of midwifery is really synonymous with ‘mothering’ – mothering with unconditional love.”

    Thank you, Carrie, for displaying unwavering dedication and love to your patients – even when it means cutting out early on a hair appointment.

    And for the record, we think your hair turned out great, too.

    Related Content: Alumni Spotlight: Carrie Lee-Hall MSN, WHNP, FNP, SANE, CNM

     

  • 5 Reasons Why You Should Attend March for Moms

    A message from Dr. Susan Stone, Frontier

    Nursing University President:

     

    The Frontier Nursing University (FNU)

    community believes that now is the time to advocate for action to improve maternity care. For that reason we are partnering with March for Moms, a rally advocating for mother’s rights. We invite you to join us on Sunday, May 14, from 1 – 4 p.m. at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.

     

    During the event you will have the opportunity to connect with FNU alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends and enjoy a fun afternoon standing up for action to improve maternity care. FNU will also be sponsoring the guest speaker, David Monteith, U.K. Actor, as he leads us in defining some key issues that contribute to the worsening health of moms and babies.

     

    I would also like to share with you a recent interview with Dr. Neel Shah, MD, MPP who is an obstetrician and faculty member at Harvard Medical School as well as co-founder of March for Moms. A primary goal of his career is to improve the safety and cost of maternity care.

     

    Sincerely, Dr. Susan Stone, DNSc, CNM, FNU President

     

    Interview with Dr. Neal Shaw, Co-founder of March for Moms and Harvard Obstetrician:

     

    There are a lot of marches these days…do we really need a march for moms?

     

    The past few months have brought the world a lot of shocking news. One positive consequence of these uncertain times is that it has stoked a fire of activism in the United States in a way that we have not seen in decades. We are seeing people of all stripes stand up and advocate for the issues they care deeply about, from science on Earth Day to the wellbeing of moms on Mother’s Day.

     

    Here’s the thing: moms are used to putting themselves last in order to put their families first. We believe it is high time to give our moms the support and public investment they deserve.

     

    Right now, one in every three Americans is born through major surgery—twice as many as are medically necessary. At the same time, we have the highest rates of maternal death and injury, the lowest birth weights, and the widest disparities in the entire developed world. If that wasn’t bad enough, we also have the worst paid family leave policies in the entire developed world.

     

    My colleagues and I believe the United States of America can do a lot better. That’s why we’re going to be at the Jefferson Memorial on May 14th.

     

    What are you hoping to accomplish?

     

    We all love our own moms, but the way we treat moms collectively in this country is shameful. Moms are resilient—even when things are tough, they seldom complain.

     

    The goal of March for Moms is to ensure they get the support and investment they deserve, whether they complain or not.

     

    How are you going to do this?

     

    First we created a canvas – the Thomas Jefferson Memorial on Mother’s Day. Then we built a wireframe: a platform of bipartisan issues that everyone can agree are hugely important—from preventing an alarming rate of maternal death, to investing in moms who also work with paid family leave. Within weeks, we had dozens of leading American organizations co-creating the event with us—they are collectively financing and promoting a rally that will gather thousands of families on the National Mall, and feature speakers, entertainers, celebrities, and policymakers.

     

    We will also be hosting a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill, followed by a lobbying day directed toward a set of specific bills.

     

    Who are you working with?

     

    March for Moms started from a conversation between leaders of two professional organizations in maternal health—the American College of Nurse Midwives and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. It has since grown to include more than twenty organizations, including Every Mother Counts, March of Dimes, Lamaze International, the National Partnership for Women and Families, and many others.

     

    Ok. I’m fired up. How can I be a part of this?

     

    Three ways. First, show up. This is a historic event –the first time anything like this has happened—we need you there for it to be as successful as possible. Second, invest—any amount, even just $10, will go a long way towards making sure we capture the attention of policymakers. Third, share. Tell everyone you know—we’re on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. www.MarchforMoms.org

     

    By: Dr. Neal Shah, Co-founder of March for Moms and Harvard Obstetrician

  • Celebrate National Nurses Week 2017

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is excited to celebrate National Nurses Week 2017! The celebration begins this Saturday, May 6, and will continue through Friday, May 12. The week is presented by the American Nurses Association (ANA) to recognize nurses working in the many fields of the health care profession. This year’s theme, “Nursing: the Balance of Mind, Body, and Spirit,” is all about celebrating nurses who lead the charge for health and wellness.

     

    As part of this week, FNU is kicking off a Bluegrass Wellness Challenge for all current employees and students.  Participants will participate in a five-week wellness challenge that encourages everyone to get moving! Top performers will receive gift cards as incentives for participating in the challenge. FNU employees and students can watch their inbox for more details.  

     

    Additionally, there will be a variety of fun social media contests happening all week. Be sure to keep up to date with the FNU Facebook and Twitter pages to participate! Winners will receive prizes.

     

    The ANA will also be offering a free webinar titled A Nurse’s Guide to Preventing Compassion Fatigue, Moral Distress, and Burnout, on Wednesday, May 10, from 1 – 2 p.m. EST. During this 60-minute exclusive live event, Joyce A. Batcheller, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN will discuss the latest research in the field and provide listeners with tools and strategies to infuse meaning, joy, and restoration into their practice and life.

     

    For more information on the webinar or to register, go here.

     

    FNU celebrates all the nurses that work hard daily to deliver quality health care to their patients!

  • Student Spotlight: Stefanie Schwarz

    At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

     

    As a labor and delivery nurse for the United States Army, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) student Stefanie Schwarz enjoys serving active duty military members and their families. She is also currently pursuing her Master of Science in Nursing degree and is projected to graduate as a certified nurse-midwife in 2018 (Class 145).  

     

    In her newest duty station in Woodbridge, Va., CPT Schwarz has quickly implemented an important tool she learned in her previous duty stations: the postpartum hemorrhage kit.  

     

    “By creating the postpartum hemorrhage kits for my staff, we are able to pull the kits during an emergency to have access to all the necessary supplies and medications in one convenient place,” said CPT Schwarz.  

     

    In the past, medication that needed to be refrigerated was often thrown away unnecessarily once it sat out too long. Now the kits are being placed back into the refrigerator if not used, which means that the medication in the kits is being preserved. Not only does this save the pharmacy and the hospital thousands of dollars every month, it is instrumental in helping to improve patient safety.  CPT Schwarz is a Captain in the Army and was recently honored with a “good catch” award from her unit for developing this tool.

     

    The Frontier community is proud to have students like CPT Schwarz who are  not only great health care workers, but also look to immediately improve their health care setting.

     

    According to CPT Schwarz, choosing FNU as her university for the next step in her education wasn’t a difficult decision.

     

    “FNU has a great reputation of bringing a unique set of people together to become nurse-midwives, and I wanted to be a part of that,” she said.

     

    Thank you, CPT Schwarz, for all that you are doing to care for those serving our country!

  • Alumni Spotlight: Adrian Medina MSN, RN

    At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

     

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU) offers students around the world a chance to receive a quality education. Alumni Adrian Medina, MSN, RN took full advantage of this opportunity – earning his degree while living and working in Guam!

     

    Adrian first discovered his passion for nurse-midwifery during the labor and delivery portion of his hospital rotations.

     

    “I enjoyed looking after women in labor, and I knew that I wanted to do that for a living,” said Adrian.

     

    His passion grew as he was placed in the labor and delivery ward immediately after nursing school. When he decided to pursue a specialized degree in nurse-midwifery, Adrian’s research led him to FNU. He was drawn to FNU’s reputation and rich history as well as its focus on community.

     

    Despite his geographical location, Adrian was able to build relationships with FNU faculty and staff during his studies, ultimately leading to a mid-clinical site visit from clinical program director Jane Houston, DNP, CNM in 2016.

     

    Adrian is planning to further his education through FNU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program in hopes of expanding his role as both a clinician leader and a nurse educator.

     

    “I hope to continue to fulfill preceptor and mentor roles, as well as pursue my interests in nursing research, hospitalist midwifery care, women’s health, and perioperative quality improvement,” said Adrian.

     

    Adrian also hopes to continue to work in the community, both in the clinic and in the hospital setting. According to Adrian, Guam has a very large migrant minority population and he’s always seen himself working with this patient population.

     

    “FNU has helped me build a solid foundation for my nurse-midwifery career,” said Adrian.

     

    The FNU community is proud of the work Adrian has done and continues to do in his home community of Guam!

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