Frontier Nursing Service facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Frontier Nursing Service
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| Location | Hospital Hill, off Hickory St., Hyden, Kentucky |
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| Area | 2.3 acres (0.93 ha) |
| Built | 1928 |
| NRHP reference No. | 90002126 |
| Added to NRHP | January 11, 1991 |
The Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) helps people in rural areas get healthcare. It has been doing this since 1925. FNS also teaches people to become nurse-midwives since 1939.
Today, the Service runs six healthcare clinics in eastern Kentucky. It also includes the Mary Breckinridge Hospital (now part of Appalachian Regional Healthcare). The Mary Breckinridge Home Health Agency is also part of FNS. The Frontier Nursing University and the Bed and Breakfast Inn at Wendover, Kentucky are also connected to FNS.
Contents
History of the Frontier Nursing Service
How FNS Started and Its Early Days
The Frontier Nursing Service was started in 1925. It was founded by Mary Breckinridge (1881–1965). She started it in Leslie County, Kentucky. Mary had seen a similar healthcare service in Scotland. She wanted to help families and mothers in remote areas.
Mary Breckinridge had a sad reason for her work. Her own two children died young. She wanted to prevent other families from experiencing such loss. In the 1920s, many babies and mothers died in the United States. For example, in 1923, about 7 mothers died for every 1,000 births. In 1920, about 6 babies died for every 1,000 births.
Mary chose this part of Kentucky because it was hard to reach. There were no licensed doctors in Leslie County. She also had family connections in Kentucky, which helped her get support.
The Frontier Nursing Service was the first group in the U.S. to hire nurses who were also trained midwives. At first, there were no midwifery schools in the U.S. So, FNS offered scholarships for American nurses to study in Great Britain. They also hired trained midwives from Great Britain. The group was first called the Kentucky Committee for Mothers and Babies.
The Frontier Nursing Service grew quickly. In 1925, Mary and two nurses opened the first clinic in Hyden, Kentucky. They helped many patients right away. By the end of that year, Mary built a log house in Wendover, Kentucky. This "Big House" became her home and the FNS headquarters.
In 1928, the Hyden Hospital and Health Center opened. Nine more nursing centers opened in Leslie County and Clay County, Kentucky. These centers were placed about nine to twelve miles apart. They were located along waterways and travel routes. This way, FNS covered a large area of about 60 miles.
Because the areas were so remote, nurses traveled by horseback. Mary Breckinridge hired "couriers" to help the nurses. Couriers knew the local trails and helped nurses stay on track. They also helped set up supplies and offered support. Nurses were never alone, even on late-night rides.
The Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery
When World War II started, American nurses could no longer go to Britain for midwifery training. To keep training nurses, the Frontier Nursing Service started its own school. This was the Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery. The first students started in November 1939.
The course lasted six months. Students had to help with at least 20 births. The first two classes received scholarships. By 1952, 122 graduates worked in the U.S. and other countries. By 1966, 285 qualified nurse-midwives were working.
In 1970, the school's name changed to the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing (FSMFN). Now, it is called Frontier Nursing University. It uses distance education to train students. This means students can learn from far away. The Frontier Nursing Service was featured in a 1931 movie called The Forgotten Frontier.
Adding Family Nursing Education
In the 1980s, fewer babies were being born in Leslie County. This made it hard to keep a traditional midwifery program going. So, FNS started a new program. It was called the Community-based Nurse-midwifery Education Program (CNEP). This program helped nurses get advanced education while staying in their communities. The goal was to have more nurse-midwives in areas that needed them.
In the late 1960s, FNS saw that healthcare was becoming more complex. Nurses needed more training to care for whole families. So, FSMFN created the first program to train "family nurse practitioners." These nurses could provide care for all family members. In 1970, the school's name changed to include "Family Nursing."
The Community-based Family Nurse Practitioner (CFNP) program started again in 1999. It used the same distance education model as CNEP. This helped FNS continue its mission. It trains nurses to give complete, safe, and culturally sensitive care.
The Frontier Nursing Service Complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. This means it is a special historical site.
Frontier Nursing University Today
In 2000, students wanted to complete their entire education through distance learning. So, the FSMFN decided to become a full graduate school. It would offer a Master of Science in Nursing degree. The school worked hard to update its programs and faculty.
On December 6, 2004, the school was approved to grant master's degrees. Other nursing organizations also approved its programs in 2005. In 2011, the school changed its name to Frontier Nursing University. This showed it could offer advanced nursing degrees.
Today, the university offers many programs for nurses. They can become nurse-midwives, family nurse practitioners, or women's health nurse practitioners. They also offer certificates for nurses who already have a master's degree. In July 2016, they added an online program for mental health nursing. Frontier Nursing University now has graduates in every U.S. state and seven other countries.
In 2024, Frontier Nursing Service teamed up with Ob Hospitalist Group. This partnership helps make the nursing program stronger. It provides more clinical locations across the United States. This means students do not have to travel far from home for their training. There are already 22 programs around the country, and they are still growing.
Impact of FNS
The Frontier Nursing Service has made a big difference.
- For its first 30 years, FNS had much better results for mothers and babies than the rest of the country.
- For example, the death rate for mothers at FNS was much lower. It was about 9 deaths per 10,000 births. For the U.S. overall, it was about 34 deaths per 10,000 births.
- Also, fewer babies cared for by FNS had low birth weight. Only 3.8 percent of FNS babies had low birth weight. For the country, it was 7.6 percent.
- From 1938 to 1939, FNS nurses helped over 8,000 people. Almost 5,000 of these were children.
- By 1959, FNS nurse-midwives had helped with over 10,000 births.
- From 1964 to 1965, FNS nurses cared for over 10,000 patients. They helped 369 women with prenatal care, childbirth, and after-birth care.
- In 1972, the Service opened the Mary Breckinridge Hospital and Health Center. It had 40 beds.
- In 2011, Frontier Nursing Service sold Mary Breckinridge Hospital to Appalachian Regional Healthcare.
- In 2017, Frontier Nursing Service bought a campus in Versailles, Kentucky. They have considered moving the entire nursing school there.
- In 2019, there was a public concern about moving a stained glass window. This window belonged to St. Christopher's Chapel in Hyden, Kentucky. People wanted it to stay in its original place.
Relocation of Frontier Nursing University
In 2018, the Frontier Nursing University (FNU) moved completely out of Leslie County. It moved to Versailles, Kentucky. This move was different from the founder's original goal. Mary Breckinridge wanted to serve the people in rural Kentucky mountains.
FNU said its new campus in Versailles was still in a rural county. They also said it was close to an airport and major highways. However, Woodford County, where Versailles is, is actually considered a metro area. It is not a rural area.
FNU also tried to move a stained glass window from a chapel in Hyden. They wanted to put it in their new campus. This caused a lot of upset. Many people, including Congressman Hal Rogers, felt this did not honor Mary Breckinridge's mission. A petition was started to return the window to the chapel. It got over 3,700 signatures. It is not confirmed if the window has been returned.
Kentucky Law on Midwives
In 2019, Kentucky passed a new law about midwives. This law, Senate Bill 84, helps certify and regulate midwives. Kentucky had stopped certifying midwives in 1975. So, there were no clear rules for over 30 years.
The new law created a council to set up rules for licensing midwives. It will also set standards for training programs. It will define when a midwife needs to send a client to a doctor or hospital. The law also makes it illegal to offer midwife services without a license. However, it makes exceptions for traditional birth helpers for religious or cultural reasons. It also allows family and friends to help without pay.
