FNU to Re-Launch Courier Program in 2023

While Frontier Nursing’s University campus had been utilized by students, faculty, and staff in the months prior to the official grand opening in September 2022, that ceremony signaled the opportunity to fully resume and implement all campus activities. Among those, FNU’s longstanding Courier program is set to relaunch in 2023.

The Courier Program is an eight-week rural and public health summer service-learning program for college students with an interest in public health, healthcare, or a related field. The program will run from May 31 to July 28. This marks a resumption of the Courier Program, which was last held in 2019. The program has been suspended since then due to the pandemic and the university’s move to its Versailles campus in Woodford County, Kentucky. FNU’s Courier Program was launched in 1928 in Frontier’s original home in Hyden, Kentucky. Since then, more than 1,600 students have participated in this unique service-learning program.

“We are proud and excited to relaunch the Courier Program,” said FNU Director of Annual Giving and Courier Programs Lisa Colletti-Jones. “We look forward to working with students from across the country and hope they gain insight into the challenges facing our rural and underserved communities. The Courier Program is one of Frontier Nursing University’s finest traditions, and I’m so glad we can share it with Woodford County and the surrounding areas.”

The Couriers will live in the newly renovated Courier House located on the FNU campus. Couriers will be immersed in service learning throughout Woodford County and surrounding communities. They will begin with a two-day orientation which will introduce them to the university and to the role they will play as Couriers in the community. The students will participate in online modules guided by a faculty advisor to learn about the importance of rural and public healthcare. They will also observe at local clinic host sites where they will apply what they have learned in real-life situations in the community.

As they gain experience, the students will proceed to participate with a host site in creating a project designed to help the underserved community in which they are working. The Couriers’ service-learning experience will include a presentation on a health assessment they have conducted through their observations in the clinical sites, and they will work with their host organization to create a service project for that site and the people it serves.

For more information about FNU’s Courier summer servicelearning program, please contact Lisa Colletti-Jones, Director of Annual Giving and Courier Programs, at lisa.collettijones@ frontier.edu or 859.251.4728.

The Role of Nurse-Midwives and Why It Matters

For decades, Frontier Nursing University has excelled at preparing nurse-midwifery and nurse practitioner students to become ethical, compassionate, innovative, and entrepreneurial leaders. FNU has long understood the vital roles that nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners play in the nation’s healthcare system. To the general public, however, the different terms and titles can be confusing, yet understanding them grows more important as the U.S. combats significant healthcare shortages and crises across the country.

Even before the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it was well-known that the U.S. was facing a healthcare provider shortage. This trend was verified in a June 2021 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges*, which estimated the U.S. faces a shortage of primary care physicians of between 17,800 and 48,000 and a shortage across the nonprimary care specialties of between 21,000 and 77,100 physicians.

Perhaps even more disconcerting is the maternal mortality crisis. A maternal death is defined by the World Health Organization as “the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes.” According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2021, the maternal mortality rate in the United States was 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, a dramatic increase from rates of 23.8 in 2020 and 20.1 in 2019^. The rate for non-Hispanic Black women is even more alarming, at 69.9 deaths per 100,000 births in 2021.

Answers to systemic problems are complex and involve multiple components, but data suggests that nurse-midwives could help dramatically to improve the nation’s maternal mortality crisis. The Lancet Series on Midwifery** found that midwives are linked to higher rates of physiologic birth and fewer adverse neonatal outcomes. The report noted that approximately 10 percent of U.S. births are attended by nurse-midwives, compared to 50-75 percent in other highresource countries.

In addition to educating and preparing more nurse-midwives, part of the solution is also an increased awareness of exactly what nurse-midwives do. Taking note of the many myths about nurse-midwives, FNU has made it a strategic priority to be a source of information and education about the vital role of nurse-midwives.

“Nurse-midwives contribute significantly to better care for women and families,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone, DNSc, CNM, FACNM, FAAN. “This is why a number of healthcare organizations across the country are embracing collaborative models and adding nurse-midwives to healthcare teams. With their unique skill sets, nurse-midwives help improve quality and decrease costs. They also serve as excellent advocates for patients, which is particularly important as more and more women are seeking out-ofhospital care.”

Certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) are educated in two disciplines: midwifery and nursing. They earn graduate degrees, complete a midwifery education program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME), and pass a national certification examination administered by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB).

“An important objective for Frontier Nursing University is to define the role of the certified nurse-midwife so the public understands the broad scope of services these professionals provide,” Dr. Stone said.

FNU’s strategy to educate the public about the difference between nurse-midwives has included sharing informational messages across multiple platforms, including FNU’s publications and communications, including the FNU website, blog, Quarterly Bulletin, e-newsletters, press releases, and myth-busting fact sheets.

Nurse-midwives have a core focus on promoting optimal health, not only caring for the sick but also providing guidance to assist in long-term health. This model of care forms a partnership between nurse and patient with a focus on promoting ongoing health in addition to treating illness. The focus on health maintenance is a core characteristic of the practice of nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners. Midwifery care, as defined by the American College of Nurse-Midwives, includes health promotion, disease prevention, wellness education and counseling, and full-scope primary care services, including maternity care. According to a 2018 study, midwifery care has been shown to decrease cesarean section rates, decrease interventions and decrease preterm birth^^.

“Nurse-midwives serve as excellent advocates for patients, which is particularly important as more women seek out-ofhospital care,” Dr. Stone said. “Frontier Nursing University’s goal is to educate more certified nurse-midwives so that midwifery care is available to all women who seek it, and to educate the public about the care that these nurse-midwives can provide.”

* IHS Markit Ltd. The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2019 to 2034. Washington, DC: AAMC; 2021.

^ Hoyert DL. Maternal mortality rates in the United States, 2021. NCHS Health E-Stats. 2023.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:124678

**https://www.thelancet.com/series/midwifery

^^Loewenberg Weisband Y, Klebanoff M, Gallo MF, Shoben A, Norris AH. Birth Outcomes of Women Using a Midwife versus Women Using a Physician for Prenatal Care. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2018 Jul;63(4):399-409. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.12750. Epub 2018 Jun 26. PMID: 29944777.