The 2018 Couriers served a vast number of Appalachian community members through their summer of working in clinics and nonprofits. We are pleased to share with you a glimpse of their summer projects and service below: Molly Craig Molly Craig served with Kentucky Mountain Health Alliance (Little Flower Clinic) and Bluegrass Care Navigators. For her community project, she worked with a local practitioner to conduct a seminar on combating opioid addiction for inmates at the Leslie County … [Read more...]
Meet the 2018 Couriers
Three Couriers have just completed Frontier Nursing University’s (FNU) Courier Program from June 10 - August 11, 2018. Coming from as far as California, the Couriers served at clinics and were immersed in the culture of rural, underserved Appalachia during the two-month program. Read more about each of the Couriers who answered the call to serve in these communities: Dania Cervantes Ayala Dania Cervantes Ayala is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from … [Read more...]
Courier Spotlight: Sally Hamby
Northeastern native Sally Hamby was inspired as a teenager to serve as a Courier with Frontier Nursing Service (FNS). At age 23, after graduating college, Sally finally got her chance. In the fall of 1974 she headed from Washington, D.C. to Kentucky, a foreign state and a foreign culture. Sally was stationed at Flat Creek, an outpost center at FNS, for the majority of her time as a Courier. There she worked with Sue (Brezec) Krech, who was just 22 at the time and the only nurse-midwife on … [Read more...]
Courier Spotlight: Laura Lee Parrish
Laura Lee Parrish’s life transformed when she went from farmgirl to Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) Courier in 1970. A Bourbon County, Ky. native, Laura was familiar with FNS when she began her journey 130 miles southeast to Leslie County. Little did she know how much of an impact the experience would have on her. According to Laura, she always had a desire to serve the Eastern Kentucky community. However, having grown up very simply on a farm, she was unsure of her abilities to help when she … [Read more...]
FNU Co-hosts Healthy Futures Fair
The Courier Program at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) recently co-hosted the 2018 Healthy Futures Fair for Leslie County, Ky. community members to meet health providers from the area, learn about their services and discover what it is like to have a career in the health care industry. The fair, co-hosted with Mountain View Elementary School in Leslie County, was held on Wednesday, June 6, 2018 from 12-2 p.m. at the elementary school. Leading up to the event, Mountain View Elementary … [Read more...]
Courier Spotlight: Florence Booker Rawleigh
The late Florence Booker Rawleigh claimed that working for the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) as a Courier was the most interesting thing she did in her 95 years of life. Florence was asked to serve as a Courier during a flu outbreak 1942. During the epidemic, many prominent families in the area were asked to send their children to volunteer with FNS to tend to those ill from the flu in rural and underserved Appalachia. “They would call and say they need you desperately, ” said Florence. … [Read more...]
Courier Spotlight: Wendy Parker-Wood
When Wendy Parker-Wood’s family visited the Big House at the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) grounds, Wendy knew it was a place she wanted to be. The then 12-year-old Wendy was fascinated by the stories her mother told of volunteering as a Christmas secretary at FNS in the 1930s, and she felt a strong connection to the work the Couriers did there. In her senior year of high school in 1966, Wendy traveled to Wendover to participate in the Courier Program. She rode horses, grocery shopped for … [Read more...]
Courier Spotlight: Joan Todd
Joan Todd decided to become a Courier in 1953 through the influence of two women well-connected with Frontier Nursing Service (FNS). Joan’s grandmother had befriended Mary Breckinridge in college, and her mother had served as a Courier in her younger years. Although she was hesitant, Joan traveled to Wendover in 1953 to take part in the program. Joan served in many roles as a Courier, such as organizing medications, removing the expired medications and stocking new shipments. She also … [Read more...]
