News and Notes diversity of certified nurse-midwives who serve in rural and underserved areas of the country in an effort to prevent and reduce maternal mortality.
FNU Receives INSIGHT Into Diversity 2021 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for Fourth Consecutive Year Frontier Nursing University received the 2021 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. As a recipient of the annual Health Professions HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. health colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — FNU was featured, along with 50 other recipients, in the December 2021 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. This is the fourth consecutive year FNU has been named as a Health Professions HEED Award recipient. “We are incredibly honored to be selected for the prestigious HEED Award for the fourth year in a row,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone. “We recognized the need for more diversity in our nation’s healthcare system over a decade ago. Culturally concordant care improves health outcomes, which is in direct alignment with our mission to provide accessible nursemidwifery 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. While we know that we have much work to do, this award recognizes our progress and reaffirms our commitment to be a leader for change and to continue towards our goal of becoming an antiracist university.” Earlier this year, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded FNU two grants totaling $4,140,000. The HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) grant totals $1,920,000 and the Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) grant totals $2,220,000. HRSA, which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will award the funding for both grants in annual installments over the next four years. The goal of the BHWET program is to increase the number of psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners who are diverse in race, ethnicity, and other underrepresented populations serving in rural and medically underserved communities. The goal of the NWD program is to increase the number and
10 Frontier Nursing University • Quarterly Bulletin
To help direct the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and incorporate perspectives from all corners of the university, FNU has created several task forces and committees composed of faculty, staff, students, and volunteers. Created in 2015, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee develops, promotes, and provides programs and resources to enhance diversity throughout the university and healthcare workforce. The President’s DEI Task Force was formed in January 2021 to further FNU’s mission to become an antiracist university. The recently formed Antiracism and Bias Advisory Council (ABAC), derived by the FNU’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, is a diverse group of Frontier employees who will serve as an advisory board for any employee and student bias reporting. In January 2021, the FNU Board of Directors (BOD) created a BOD Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee that is responsible for working with the Board of Directors and the administration to ensure that Frontier strives to be an antiracist university. In April 2021, the Board of Directors approved the endowment of a new scholarship to support African American, Black, Native American, and Alaskan Native students. The scholarship will support 10 students per year. “At Frontier, we challenge our students, faculty, and staff to be the agents of change we need to dismantle racism and discrimination in healthcare,” said FNU Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Dr. Geraldine Young. “Collectively, we have the power to reduce health disparities and inequities and improve health outcomes. Receiving the HEED Award is not only a great honor, but it also provides an excellent opportunity for us to continue to have important conversations and to advance both the internal and external diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of our university.” FNU’s commitment to emphasizing and valuing diversity and inclusion was formally instituted with the creation of the Diversity Impact Program in 2010, with particular
