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PBS Documentary Explores the Founding of Frontier Nursing Service

October 7, 2021 By Frontier Nursing University

A PBS documentary exploring the founding of Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) will premiere Monday, Oct. 11, at 9 p.m. EST on Kentucky Educational Television (KET) and Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. EST on KET2.

Angels on Horseback: Midwives in the Mountains, is narrated by Ashley Judd and will detail the legacy midwives from FNS created in rural Kentucky, providing exceptional care for women and children. Since the foundation of the hospital in 1927, hundreds of thousands of children have been cared for in Appalachia Kentucky, and beyond.

Nurse-midwifery roots can be traced back to the work that started in rural Kentucky with the FNS. Seeing a need for additional nurse-midwives, FNS established the Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery, now Frontier Nursing University (FNU), in 1939. FNU now has more than 8,000 nurse-midwife and nurse practitioner graduates nationwide and in several foreign countries.

While the documentary features the beginning of FNU, the call to service continues today through our students, faculty, staff, and community. Get a glimpse of the Frontier student experience today in this 3-minute video.

The documentary, which will be distributed nationally by PBS to member stations, also will be available for streaming at KET.org and on the PBS Video app. Go here to learn more.

About Frontier Nursing University:

The mission of FNU is to provide accessible nurse-midwifery and nurse practitioner education to prepare competent, entrepreneurial, ethical, and compassionate leaders in primary care to serve all individuals with an emphasis on women and families in diverse, rural, and underserved 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. In 2021, Frontier was named a “Great College to Work For” by the Great Colleges to Work For® program. To learn more about FNU and the programs and degrees offered, please visit Frontier.edu.

Frontier Nursing University Donates Wendover Bed & Breakfast and Retreat Center to Leslie County (Ky.) Betterment, Inc.

June 30, 2021 By Frontier Nursing University

Porch at Big House – Wendover Bed & Breakfast

Frontier Nursing University (FNU) announced today Leslie County Betterment, Inc., has accepted the university’s offer to donate the Wendover Bed & Breakfast and Retreat Center to them for the benefit of the people of Leslie County. The gift includes all the property and buildings that make up the Wendover Bed & Breakfast and Retreat Center. The total value of the donation is estimated at just under two million dollars. The transfer of the property was completed today, June 30, 2021.
The decision to donate the property was made by the FNU Board of Directors at its meeting on April 29, 2021. The property was the home of Mary Breckinridge and the Frontier Nursing Service. The centerpiece is the “Big House”, which was built in 1925 and is a National Historic Landmark.

“While we are sad to say goodbye to such a significant part of our history, we are extremely happy that the residents of Leslie County will be able to continue to enjoy the beauty of Wendover,” FNU President Dr. Susan Stone said. “We are thankful for the wonderful home that Wendover provided us for so many years and for the memories we will carry with us always. We know that many more fond memories will be created there and that Leslie County Betterment will put the property to continued good use for the benefit of the county and its residents.”

FNU has completed construction on its new campus in Versailles, Kentucky. The land, which was purchased in 2017, was the former home of The United Methodist Children’s Home. The new 217-acre campus maintains FNU’s presence in a rural county while providing more space to serve FNU’s more than 2,500 students.

Featured Preceptor: Tami Osborne, A Heart for Her Home Community

April 22, 2021 By Frontier Nursing University

This quarter’s Frontier Nursing University featured preceptor, Tami Osborne, PMHNP, was nominated by student Leslie Duff, for her dedication and compassion for the people of Eastern Kentucky.

Here is what Duff had to say about her experience studying under Osborne:

“I was honored to spend several hundred hours working under Tami’s leadership. She has a true passion for improving the stigma of psychiatric mental health that runs deep in Eastern Kentucky. The biggest way she does this is through education. As a daily part of patient care, Osborne educates her patients about the various disease processes and medications. She teaches them genetics, trauma, and other factors that play into a person’s mental health. With each patient, she had the ability to help them see their psychiatric mental health conditions does not make them weak but allows them to grow through their journey.

Osborne is especially dedicated to helping and advocating for those suffering from substance abuse in the region. The care and concern that she offers these patients who are so often stigmatized truly impressed me. As I worked along Osborne, several of her patients in the MAT program at Appalachian Wellness shared with me their recovery stories. I was often told how Osborne helped them realize that they did have the power to overcome substance addiction, and how she gave them the strength they needed to believe they could live a better life. The story I remember most was a young man who lost everything, including custody and visitation rights to his children. He is now over a year clean, working, and able to spend time with his children. Tami truly makes a positive difference in this world, one patient at a time.”

Osborne is a fantastic fit for her career because it is a dream she has had ever since she was a little girl growing up in Eastern Kentucky. “I always knew I wanted to be a nurse,” Osborne says, “it just took some life experience for me to realize the best way I could help my home community.”

Osborne was married young, and after a few years, found herself divorced and living in Lexington, Ky. with three little girls. She attributes fair salaries and the high demand for nurses with helping her get through those years raising her daughters alone.

Osborne attended Eastern Kentucky University as a single mother, where she earned her bachelor’s in nursing. She worked as an aid at the University of Kentucky Hospital, but following graduation, began a new career at Eastern State Hospital, a psychiatric care facility in Lexington.

During the time she was working at Eastern State, Osborne married a wonderful man. Unfortunately, he passed away from a heart attack at a young age within a few years of their marriage. It was after this loss that Osborne decided it was time to return home.

“Eastern Kentucky has always been home to me, I tried to leave, but my heart never really followed. When I was coming to terms with the loss of my husband, I knew the best thing for me was to return to my roots,” Osborne said.

When Osborne returned home, she began working as an administrator within the local prison. Her psychiatric care foundation from Eastern State Hospital played a significant role in supporting her co-workers and the incarcerated persons in her new role.

Osborne said that psychiatric-mental health was always the nursing sector that interested her the most, so, on her 50th birthday, with her girls grown up, Osborne decided to go back to school to become a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP).

Shortly after finishing her degree, a past co-worker from the prison reached out. He was now the Juniper Health System CEO and wanted to hire Osborne as their first PMHNP.

In her current role, Osborne travels to five different Eastern Kentucky counties throughout the week, helping to break generational patterns of trauma that are unfortunately far too common in the region.

Osborne is especially passionate about treating women who have experienced trauma.

“I see so many women who were abused as children and then find themselves with one abusive partner after another. Unfortunately, this cycle continues as they have children of their own. They simply don’t know anything else,” Osborne said.

Although Osborne often only sees these women briefly for short medication appointments, she does everything she can in that time to uplift her patients and let them know there are other options.

“I will constantly correct negative self-talk and work to help them establish positive thoughts about themselves. I work on debriefing, grounding, and attempt to coach through fear-based issues. I am currently taking multiple continuing education units (CEU’s) on trauma so that I can continue to help women in these difficult situations,” Osborne said.

In addition to helping grown women, Osborne also works with high numbers of adolescents and teens overcoming trauma and neglect, cares for 30 medicated-assistant treatment (MAT) patients on their journey to overcoming addiction, and continues to step in at the prison whenever there is a need.

“My job is difficult, and I work a lot of hours, but that is because there is so much need in this community,” Osborne said. “I love the people of Eastern Kentucky, and I will always put my all into helping them overcome obstacles.”

Osborne is one of a limited number of PMHNPs in the area. Due to the lack of psychiatric care in Eastern Kentucky, precepting offers Osborne a look into a hopeful future for the region.

“I host three or four students at a time. All but one of them have been from Eastern Kentucky and plan on returning to the area to serve after graduation,” Osborne said. “Having this opportunity to bring new nurses to our region is critical work to me.”

Osborne enjoys many aspects of precepting and says she truly appreciates working with the students and listening to their ideas.

According to Osborne, the students always have great ideas and different approaches. She loves having multiple perspectives to learn from and to collaborate with one another.

“Eastern Kentucky will always be my home. I think it is the most beautiful place on earth, with the most genuine people you could ever meet. I am completely invested in advocating for these people and providing them with resources. Because this area has had fewer opportunities than many regions, there can be a lack of trust in professionals and outsiders. It is my goal that the people of Eastern Kentucky know that I have their backs.”

Thank you Tami for your hard work and dedication in bringing mental health resources to Eastern Kentucky. You are making positive changes that will impact these communities for decades to come.

FNU is always looking for preceptors like Osborne who will step up to the plate and educate the next generation of nurses. For more information on becoming a preceptor for FNU students, visit our preceptor page.

Second Annual “Operation: FNS Nurse Gift Delivery” Funds Christmas for Locals

January 23, 2019 By frontieredu

In December, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) teamed up with the AmeriCorps TASK VISTA to make Christmas special for 17 families in the Leslie County, Ky. community.

The second annual “Operation: FNS Nurse Gift Delivery” funded gift bags that contained 50 dollars’ worth of toys and clothing for local children and expecting mothers. The items in the bag were chosen specific to each recipient’s sizes and preferences.

The gifts were brought to the Leslie County Early Head Start center on Monday, December 17th, 2018, where Austyn Caudill and Tara Dykes of the FNU Courier Program delivered them dressed in FNS nurse uniform. Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) was founded by Mary Breckinridge in 1925 to improve health care access for the rural, underserved population of the Appalachian region.

The recipients were 14 children ranging from 0-3 years of age, and three soon-to-be mothers.

After the gifts, which were signed “From: Mary Breckinridge,” were given, the Couriers served snacks and taught the children about Mrs. Breckinridge’s service in Appalachia. Each child also received a tote bag with a candy and an apple, in keeping with a tradition Mrs. Breckinridge started during Christmas parties at the Big House in the 1900s.

Operation: FNS Nurse Gift Delivery was made possible by the Children and Christmas Fund at FNU. Donations from community members attending the Wendover Holiday Dinner were also collected and utilized.

The children of Appalachia still have significant need, and FNU hopes to expand the project to additional Head Start centers in the region.

For more information on the FNU Children and Christmas Fund and how to sponsor more events like this in Appalachia, please email Denise.Barrett@frontier.edu. Together, we are all serving Appalachia.

View photos from the event below.

: Children munch on Christmas-themed snacks

: The little ones enjoyed the day too!

: Children unwrap gifts from “Mary Breckinridge”

: Each gift was thoughtfully chosen according to the children’s preferences

: The parents loved watching their little ones open gifts

: FNU staff Austyn Caudill (left in Riding Uniform) and Tara Dykes (right)

FNU Alumni Holly Powell Kennedy Speaks at Commencement Ceremonies

October 29, 2018 By frontieredu

One of Frontier Nursing University’s (FNU) esteemed alumni, Dr. Holly Powell Kennedy, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, spoke at the 2018 commencement ceremonies on Saturday, October 20 in Hyden, Ky.

Dr. Kennedy serves as the The Helen Varney Professor of Midwifery at the Yale School of Nursing. She is an internationally known midwifery researcher and leader, and became the first person to be appointed as the Varney Professor of Midwifery at Yale in 2009.

Dr. Kennedy is Past-President of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), a role now served by Dr. Susan Stone, President of FNU. Dr. Kennedy received the 2016 Hattie Hemschemeyer Award, the highest honor bestowed by ACNM in recognition of her contributions to research, education and practice.

She has broad experiences as a clinician, researcher, educator, policymaker and leader in a variety of settings. She now works to pass along her vision of academic and clinical scholarship in US maternal-child health care.

“We are so honored to have Dr. Kennedy as the keynote speaker for our commencement ceremony,” said FNU President and fellow FNU alumni Dr. Susan Stone.

“Dr. Kennedy’s story is inspiring and sets an example of service and leadership for all of our graduates to follow.”

In the commencement address, Dr. Kennedy spoke about how her experience as an intern and nurse practitioner with the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) inspired her to become a nurse-midwife. She told stories about traveling to FNS for the first time in 1978, where she broadened her horizons by learning about rural health and the importance of establishing patient-provider relationships.

In the years since that experience, she held on to several truths that proved invaluable to her as a care provider.

Dr. Kennedy charged the graduates to know their community; be innovative and visionary; be disciplined; believe in their patients; and take care of themselves as they provide care to so many others.

“As you go forward as newly-minted midwives, nurse practitioners and doctorates, I want you to hold on to…lessons that I learned here at Frontier and in the years since in my research,” she said.

“They reflect the foundation that Mary Breckinridge laid so many, many years ago, and they’re the key to your future success.”

Watch Dr. Kennedy’s charge to the graduates below.

Dr. Kennedy received a diploma in nursing from Miami Valley Hospital School of Nursing, Dayton, Ohio, a bachelor’s degree from Chaminade University, Honolulu, HI, a master’s degree as a family nurse practitioner from the Medical College of Georgia, a certificate of midwifery from the Frontier School of Midwifery & Family Nursing, Hyden, KY, and a PhD in nursing from the University of Rhode Island. She has held academic positions at the University of Rhode Island and most recently at the University of California San Francisco. She holds a visiting faculty appointment at King’s College London where she was a Fulbright Distinguished Fellow in 2008.

Dr. Kennedy received Frontier Nursing University’s alumni award for Distinguished Service to Society in 2012.

More than 800 students graduated from FNU in the past 12 months, representing 47 states and 3 countries. FNU President Dr. Susan Stone presided over the commencement ceremony and degrees were conferred on graduates of FNU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs. MSN graduates have completed the Nurse-Midwifery, Family Nurse Practitioner, Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner or Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specialty tracks.

You can watch the entire commencement ceremony here.

Couriers Impact Appalachian Communities Through Summer of Service

September 18, 2018 By frontieredu

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 serves as a “runner” at the RAM event

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 Detention Center, where over 85 percent of the inmates are incarcerated due to drug-related charges.

Molly donated the remainder of her project stipend to Little Flower Clinic’s in-house transportation program. With Molly’s donation, Little Flower Clinic will build benches for the patients to sit while they wait to be picked up for their health appointments. We thank Molly for her dedication and service this year, and wish her luck on her quest to become a physician!

James Rasmussen

James with the FNS historic landmark sign

James Rasmussen served with Mary Breckinridge ARH Hospital and Red Bird Mission. With Red Bird, James performed bone density screenings at a wellness fair at Red Bird Christian School. He also collaborated with local community members and officials to design and implement a large-scale mural celebrating the spirit and culture of Hyden. Volunteers helped design and paint the mural over the course of a weekend.

The completed mural will remain behind Hyden Citizens Bank as a part of the Hyden community. We wish James the best in medical school, and we thank him for his service!

Dania Cervantes Ayala

Dania serves at The Well

Dania Cervantes Ayala served with Hometown Clinic and Bluegrass Care Navigators. She provided end-of-life hospice services, shadowed advanced practice registered nurses and learned about rural healthcare in various settings.

For her community project, Dania handed out backpacks with hygiene, wellness and other often-overlooked items to students at a local back-to-school event. She procured the items by soliciting for financial and in-kind support from the community. We thank Dania for her service and wish her the best of luck as she begins her Baccalaureate Nursing Program!

Courier Volunteer Opportunities

All three Couriers also took other opportunities to volunteer throughout the summer. They each served at a local coffee shop called The Well. Run solely by volunteers, proceeds from The Well are donated toward the local food pantry.

In addition, Couriers participated in the Health Wagon Remote Area Medical (RAM) events in both Hazard, Ky. and Wise, Va. The Health Wagon’s mobile medical clinic delivers free, high-quality vision, dental and medical services to children, individuals, and families who do not have access or cannot afford to visit a healthcare provider.

The Wise RAM event registered 1,349 patients and provided $413,171 in services. In its inaugural year, the Hazard RAM event registered 446 patients and provided $131,951 in services.

We thank RAM for their support of Appalachian communities all over the nation, and our Couriers for their willingness to be a part of such a vital project! Thank you to our Couriers and Community Partners, as well as our sponsors and supporters.

A special thanks also goes to Breckinridge Capital Advisors for covering the program fees for this year’s Couriers, all of their community project costs, and their ongoing advocacy for our internship program. Together we are all serving Appalachia!

: Couriers in Dental Assistant Uniforms at RAM event

: Dania Cervantes Ayala assists with dental care at RAM event

: James Rasmussen and Molly Craig organize shoes for the RAM event

The History of Nursing

September 6, 2018 By frontieredu

At its very core, nursing has been around for centuries, although the profession of nursing started at the height of the Roman Empire, around 300 A.D. The Empire wanted to place a hospital within every town under its rule. Nurses were needed to assist doctors in caring for patients in the newly-erected hospitals.

Modern Nursing Born in the Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, the nursing industry became infused with religion, with most nurses being nuns or monks. The early hospitals during this time offered many services, including caring for sick and injured patients and providing housing for refugees and lepers. Nurses were responsible for fulfilling more duties than most nurses today.

Stagnancy Between the 17th & 18th Centuries

At the dawn of the 17th century, the nursing profession began to diminish for many reasons. For one, nuns that had been working as nurses were forced to leave the profession and stay at home. Many monasteries and the hospitals within them also shut down. The nursing profession became stagnant between the 17th and 18th Centuries.

The Dawn of Modern Nursing

Florence Nightingale is credited with helping modernize the nursing profession. Due to the many wars being waged in the mid-1800s – from the Crimean War in Eastern Europe to the Civil War in the U.S. – the need for nursing grew again. Nightingale began her nursing career during the Crimean War, taking care of injured soldiers at a hospital in Turkey. Many soldiers died from their injuries due to a lack of general hygiene and a high number of fatal infections.

Because so many soldiers were suffering, Nightingale asked for and received aid from the British government that helped improve matters. For the remainder of her life, Nightingale advocated for sanitary living conditions for patients. She also demanded that hospitals have higher hygiene standards, an idea that took hold and created a permanent impact on the nursing profession.

Overcoming Barriers and Diversifying Nursing

Until this time, nursing had mostly been reserved for white women. But a few pioneers led the way in fighting to overcome racial, social and economic injustice, obtain professional health care education and acquire professional acceptance in the field.

One such pioneer was Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole, whose efforts closely mirrored Florence Nightingale’s during the Crimean War. Seacole, who was receiving her medical education in Europe, established a facility during the war to provide caregivers, medical attention, food and shelter for the sick and wounded.

A generation later, Mary Eliza Mahoney became the first African American to be formally enrolled as a nursing student in 1878. She worked as a traveling nurse in New England, and co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) to advocate for more opportunities for formal training for African-American nurses.

These pioneers helped break through racial barriers in a predominantly-white field and lead the push for diversity and inclusiveness in the nursing profession for future nurses.

The Emergence of Midwifery in the U.S.

During the 1900s, nurses began taking on more roles than ever before. They were given the opportunity to specialize in areas like trauma, critical care, pediatrics, and orthopedics. Nurses shifted away from simply being doctors’ assistants and toward more important duties, from performing routine procedures to prescribing medications.

The evolution of nursing profession allows nurses today to receive training in over 200 unique healthcare specialties, including nurse-midwifery.

Nurse-midwifery practice made its way from Europe into the United States with Frontier founder Mary Breckinridge as the vehicle. Mrs. Breckinridge established Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) in Leslie County, Ky. in 1925 to provide healthcare for mothers and children in remote rural areas. FNS hired nurses that were also qualified as midwives, and began educating nurses in midwifery practice in 1939 with the establishment of the Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery (now Frontier Nursing University).

Learn more about FNU’s history at frontier.edu/about-frontier/history/.

Further Your Career at Frontier Nursing University

At Frontier Nursing University, we have 80 years of experience offering Nurse-Midwifery and Nurse-Practitioner distance education programs that can be pursued full- or part-time with your home community serving as your classroom. If you’re interested in advancing your nursing career, we welcome you to apply today for the graduate nursing program you’re interested in. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Courier Spotlight: Sally Hamby

July 12, 2018 By frontieredu

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 site. Though they had little supervision from the FNS headquarters, the pair had much responsibility for the health of their community. Together, Sally and Sue brought patients to appointments, delivered medication, dealt with psychiatric cases, and occasionally helped in the operating room.

Though she did not pursue a career in nursing, the skills Sally developed stayed with her for the rest of her life.

She learned to drive a manual-transmission vehicle in her many journeys to rural Appalachian homes. She grew confident in explaining to families why they needed certain medications and how to take them. She also interacted with new people weekly, serving tea and showing guests around Wendover.

“The experience helped to shape me as a person in terms of feeling confident in difficult situations and in showing compassion,” she said.

After her days as a Courier, Sally became a mother, teacher, writer and performing musician specializing in renaissance music.

But many of the friends she made are still in contact with her 44 years later, and she has continued to support Frontier to this day.

“I have remained involved because Frontier is an organization that realizes its ideals and doesn’t waste its resources,” she said. She is impressed with the way FNU has done much with few resources and shows innovation through each new circumstance.

In 2010, Sally even brought her daughter to experience Frontier. With her teen, Sally traveled back to Wendover and stayed in her old courier quarters. They toured Flat Creek, visited Hyden and shared many stories.

“Seeing the work of Frontier made an important impression on her,” she said.

From Sally’s teen years to her daughters’, the legacy of Mary Breckinridge continues to shape lives for the better.

You can read about Sally’s experiences as a Courier in the Autumn 1974 Bulletin.

In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to come 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.

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 that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.