In 2025, Frontier Nursing University honored the 100-year anniversary of the inception of the Frontier Nursing Service. We are grateful for the alumni, students, couriers, donors, volunteers, friends, and employees who have made an incredible impact on FNU’s century-long journey. We celebrated this milestone year by capturing and sharing some of the countless stories that make up our history. Whatever your connection to FNU, we hope you enjoy these stories.
Wendy Valhoff, CNM, FNP, MSN, is a 1980 graduate of the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing and a Fellow of the American College of Nurse Midwives.
She grew up in California but moved to Kentucky when her husband was drafted and sent to Fort Campbell during the Vietnam War. Valhoff went on to attend Eastern Kentucky University, then obtained her MSN from the University of Kentucky.
Upon graduating from Frontier, she worked at Booth Maternity Centre in Philadelphia, including a stint as director of their midwifery practice. In 1983, Ruth Beeman recruited her to return to Hyden and assume a faculty position. She eventually became the Educational Coordinator, working with the FSMFN from 1983 – 1990.
“While part of the FSMFN faculty, I went with Nancy Clark to Nigeria for six weeks, where the two of us precepted midwifery and FNP students from Case Western Reserve University,” Valhoff said. “I also did a one-month clinical stint in Nepal in 2014, supervising nurse-midwifery students and giving gynecology care.”
In 1991, Cathy Collins-Fulea recruited Valhoff to join her new practice at Henry Ford Health Systems.
“For the last four years of my employment, I was sent by Henry Ford Health Systems to Dearborn, Michigan, to work at ACCESS, the largest Arab-American organization in the U.S.,” Valhoff said. “There I gave prenatal, gynecology, postpartum and newborn care, and precepted students.”
Valhoff worked there until she retired in 2010 and moved to London, Ontario, Canada. She became a Canadian citizen 2012 and continues to live there today.
“Now I devote a great deal of my time to the Canadian Celtic Choir in London, Ontario,” Valhoff said. “Besides singing with the choir, I have held several positions on their non-profit Board of directors, including President, Past President and Secretary.”
Very active in retirement, Valhoff also serves on the Board of Directors of the London Women’s Canadian Club (LWCC). The LWCC is a philanthropic organization that also promotes Canadian talent and values.
FNU graduate and assistant professor Dr. Torica Fuller, DNP, MSN, FNPBC, FNP-C, WHNP-BC (Class 217), CDP, CGRN, NRCME, has been accepted as a Fellow of the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing. Dr. Fuller will officially be inducted on December 12 at the New York Academy of Medicine. The academy selected Dr. Fuller in recognition of her “demonstrated leadership, commitment, and contributions to advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in nursing, health, and healthcare.”
Frontier Nursing University Dean of Student Success Paula Alexander-Delpech, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FAANP, has been appointed to Insight Into Academia’s 17-member editorial board. Insight Into Academia is a leading publication serving the higher education community for over 50 years.
Frontier Nursing University has established an 
National Nurse Practitioner Week, taking place Nov. 9 through 15, 2025, is an opportunity to honor the vital role nurse practitioners play in improving health and well-being in communities everywhere. Today, there are 431,000 licensed NPs nationwide, and each year, NPs conduct nearly 1 billion patient visits, providing high-quality health services in hospitals, clinics, private practices, urgent care centers, and long-term care facilities.
