FNU Quarterly Bulletin Summer 2022, Volume 97, Number 2

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action

Support the Kitty Ernst Endowed Scholarship Fund

Kitty Ernst, who sadly passed away in December 2021, was a pioneer who planted the seeds for community-based midwifery and led the development and implementation of Frontier Nursing University’s Communitybased Nurse-midwifery Education Program (CNEP) program. Kitty’s life was devoted to serving others. She taught, she led, and she lifted others up. She inspired us all to pay it forward through service to the profession and to our communities.

Just as she foresaw the need for community-based advanced practice nursing, Kitty also recognized the need to assist our students. She knew that minimizing student debt would enable graduates to focus fully on their call to serve. Frontier worked with Kitty to create this endowed scholarship fund to support Frontier CNEP students.

Please join us and make a gift in celebration of Kitty’s commitment to the midwifery profession in perpetuity. Any amount that you can give is a boost for our future midwives. Help us to reach our goal of raising $500,000 for the Kitty Ernst Scholarship Fund. Gifts can be made online at frontier.edu/kittyernst. Please contact our Advancement Office at (859) 251-4739 if you have any questions or need assistance.

Thank you for your time and for your lasting impact on Frontier Nursing University.

We are looking to spotlight FNU community members in our blog! Tell us your story by scanning the QR code and filling out the form or email stories@frontier.edu. Then, someone will contact you soon. These spotlight stories help us shine a light on all of the amazing accomplishments and the impact our community members have on their home communities and the University community.

President’s Cabinet

Susan Stone, DNSc, CNM, FAAN, FACNM President

Shelley Aldridge, BA Chief Operations Officer

Paula Alexander-Delpech, Ph.D., PMHNP-BC, APRN, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

Bobbi Silver, Chief Advancement Officer

Joan Slager, CNM, DNP, FACNM, FAAN Dean of Nursing

Academic Administration

Jess Calohan, DNP, PMHNP-BC

FAAN

Department Chair of PsychiatricMental Health

Lisa Chappell, Ph.D., FNP-BC Department Chair of Family Nursing

Khara’ Jefferson, DNP, APRN, FNP-C DNP Director

Rachel Risner, Ph.D., DNP, APRN, C-FNP, CNE

Associate Dean of Academic Affairs

Eileen Thrower, Ph.D., APRN, CNM, CNE, FACNM

Department Chair for the Department of Midwifery and Women’s Health

Dear Friends,

In June, Frontier Nursing University held its 12th annual Diversity Impact Conference. It is one of our signature and most publicized events focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Rightly so, it has become a beloved and highly anticipated annual summer event. This year’s lineup of speakers was simply amazing, and we are so proud that national DEI experts and leaders are eager to be part of our conference.

The Diversity Impact Conference is an important piece of our DEI efforts and goals. While many of our other initiatives might not draw as much attention, they are there, and they are making a difference. Some have been in place since our Diversity Impact Program was first launched in 2010, and some are much more recent.

In this issue of the Quarterly Bulletin, we take a closer look at some of our DEI initiatives and the goals they are intended to achieve. We are proud of the progress we have made over the last 12 years but are acutely aware that much work is still to be done. To that end, we continue to set new goals and make data-driven, evidencebased decisions on how best to achieve those goals. We value DEI not only because it is the right thing to do but also because, as an educator of nurses and nurse-midwives, we understand the importance of culturally concordant healthcare in creating better health outcomes and reducing healthcare disparities. We don’t have all the answers, but we proudly share this annual update on our DEI initiatives and some of the success stories we have had.

Success at FNU is not limited to DEI, of course. In this issue, you will also read inspiring stories about our faculty and alumni. We highlight recent award winners from within the FNU community, share the latest news about our alumni, and recognize the wonderful efforts of our faculty and staff.

stories make me proud of our university. We can always improve, and we will always strive to do so. Still, it is important to take time to appreciate what our faculty, staff, alumni, students, volunteers, and supporters have already done to contribute to our collective success. I am so thankful for each of you and your role in the past, current, and future success of Frontier Nursing University.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action at Frontier Nursing University

Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech, Ph.D., PMNHP-BC, APRN

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been an intentional component of Frontier Nursing University’s goals, initiatives, and planning since 2006. In 2010, the university launched PRIDE (Promoting Recruitment and Retention to Increase Diversity in Nurse-Midwifery and Nurse Practitioner Education), which has since led to the multiple DEI efforts taking place at the University today. Now known as the Diversity Impact Program, PRIDE was specifically intended to raise the level of diversity in student enrollment. In 2010, the enrollment of students of color was 9%. Today, that number has risen to over 27%, and FNU’s DEI efforts have expanded exponentially to include all members and aspects of the FNU community.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator Chris Turley

Leading the university’s DEI efforts is Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO) Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech, Ph.D., PMHNPBC, APRN. Dr. Alexander-Delpech brings a great deal of expertise and experience to the CDIO position, which was created at FNU in 2017. Her other roles at FNU include serving as an Associate Professor, Chair of the President’s Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Co-Chair of the Faculty, Staff, and Preceptor Development and Retention committee.

Dr. Alexander-Delpech, who was officially named the new CDIO in August, began serving as the Interim CDIO in January. She hit the ground running, ensuring all existing initiatives and programs continued

to progress and working with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator Chris Turley to plan the annual Diversity Impact Conference. She has done all this while keeping an eye on the future. The university’s progress since the launch of the Diversity Impact Program is significant but far from over. To help determine the direction of the program moving forward, Dr. Alexander-Delpech is leaning on surveys and data to make informed decisions about which programs are working, which are not, and what new initiatives, if any, need to be implemented.

“I am working diligently with the whole FNU community to determine where we want to take the university as it relates to DEI,” Dr. Alexander-Delpech said. “One of the things that will help me as we move forward is that FNU was identified as one of 50 schools to participate in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) LAMP (Leading Across Multidimensional Perspectives) survey.”

The survey, which will be open to FNU students, faculty, and staff from November 2022 through February 2023, helps gain insight into FNU’s climate and culture.

“I hope the assessment data collected from students, faculty, and staff will give me valuable information so I can initiate the changes, identify target areas for growth, and most importantly, help us to improve student outcomes,” Dr. AlexanderDelpech said.

Because much of the work in DEI is qualitative rather than quantitative, evaluating the results and identifying common themes is subject to interpretation. To help make the evaluation more objective, Dr. Alexander-Delpech and FNU Director of Institutional Assessment Marilyn Lyons have been selected to participate in a year-long fellowship with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) partnership. The Data Equity Fellowship is a 12-month fellowship with expert facilitation to support the successful implementation of data-informed equity initiatives aligned with the institution’s mission and strategic plan, including sustaining and scaling DEI efforts.

“They will teach us how to use the qualitative data and turn it into measurable outcomes to help us make informed decisions,” Dr. Alexander-Delpech said. “It’s all about informed decisions. I don’t want to fall into project-itis, just creating one project after another without understanding the impact. I want us to know how to measure and know as an institution that we are making a difference.”

Dr. Alexander-Delpech acknowledges the great strides the university has made in the past 12 years. She is committed to building upon the foundation that has been laid, making data-driven, evidence-based decisions to forge further advancement in DEI across the university landscape.

“I want to streamline what we are doing so that it is institutional, not departmental,” Dr. Alexander-Delpech said. “We always think about DEI as it pertains to our curriculum or profession, but when people start talking about it in their personal lives, that means people are really making changes. The ripple effect is happening. At FNU, we are ahead of the game. When we talk about DEI work, FNU has surpassed a lot of other universities.”

Following is a closer look with Dr. Alexander-Delpech at a few of the events and initiatives central to the university’s DEI initiatives:

All-Star Presenter Lineup Highlights Diversity Impact Conference 2022

FNU held its 12th annual Diversity Impact Conference on June 28-29. The event, which was free for all attendees, was held virtually for the third consecutive year. The conference’s theme was “Engaging Diverse Voices in Sustained Dialogue to Build Community Trust.” The conference featured an impressive group of speakers and presenters from across the country. The opening day keynote address, “Social Justice in Nursing Education,” was given by Boston University Associate Professor of General Internal Medicine and Director of Faculty Development Angelique Harris, Ph.D., MA. The day two keynote address, “Community Historical Trauma,” was delivered by University of Texas School of Nursing Professor John Lowe, Ph.D., FAAN. Among the many other presentations were two by Clinical Professor at Duke University’s School of Nursing, Brigit Carter, Ph.D., MSN, RN, CCRN, FAAN, and Assistant Clinical Professor at Duke University’s School of Nursing Jacqui

McMillian-Bohler, Ph.D., CNM. Together, they presented “Personal Triggers” and “Microaggressions.” FNU alumni Caitlin Hainley, DNP, ARNP-CNM, IBCLC, and Emily Zambrano-Andrews, DNP, ARNPCNM, presented “Building Community: Advancing Accessibility and Affordability

in the Midwifery Model,” based on their experience as co-founders of the Des Moines Midwife Collective. FNU President Susan Stone, CNM, DNSc, FAAN, FACNM, gave a presentation and led a discussion about gun violence in the United States.

One of the conference’s many highlights was a screening of the acclaimed documentary “Apart.” The film features formerly incarcerated mothers jailed for drugrelated charges who overcome alienation and a society that labels them as “felons” to readjust to life with their families. The screening was followed by a panel discussion with three of the women featured in the documentary.

“What conference has a screening of a documentary and then has a session with the stars of the documentary?” Dr. Alexander-Delpech said. “I was floored by those women,

“I was floored by those women, allowing us to take what they were telling us into our classrooms and our professions.”

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

allowing us to take what they were telling us into our classrooms and our professions.”

“I am proud that FNU makes this a signature event,” Dr. Alexander-Delpech continued. “I am so proud that I am a member of a community that takes this so seriously that this is the type of event they would sponsor. I know I’m being prejudiced – nevertheless, we had a lineup of speakers that speaks volumes of how important diversity is to us. It tells us that we put value into diversity, equity, and inclusion. It’s not just lip service. It is what we live, it is part of our fabric. I’m so proud to be interwoven into that fabric.”

“I always learn something at the Diversity Impact Conference,” said FNU Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Rachel Risner, Ph.D., DNP, APRN, C-FNP, CNE. “I learned something from every one of our speakers. It was just such an important time for me to disconnect from all my other meetings and chats and work and just be in the moment and to listen to what everybody had to say and to have takeaways and to be able to be reflective. All the speakers were really great. I can’t wait to see how much it changes and grows every year.”

Dr. Alexander-Delpech believes that the Diversity Impact Conference has the potential to become even more prominent in the years ahead.

“I want to see this as the signature online conference,” she said. “I want to take it beyond the university. I want to go beyond our walls because we can. We just need to push the envelope further. That’s my goal for next year, to bring outside people into the conference.”

FNU Launches Student Interest Groups

In June of this year, FNU launched five Student Interest Groups (SIGs). While additional groups might be formed in the future, the five initial groups and their facilitators are:

• International Students in Nursing (Regional Clinical Faculty Martha Harvey, CNM, MSN, and Delana Gardner, DNP, MSN, FNP-C)

• LGBTQIA+ Students in Nursing (Lee Moore, DNP, MEd, ARNP, PMHNP-BC, CARN-AP, Jennifer Parr, DNP, PMHNP-BC, and Rebecca Wagschal, CNM)

By The Numbers

• Men in Nursing (Kevin Brunacini, DNP, APRN, and Thomas George, DNP, CRNP, FNP-C, NASM-CPT)

• Military/Veterans in Nursing (Joshua Faucett, DNP, FNP-BC, and Kelly Wilhite, DNP, CMN)

• Students of Color in Nursing (Dorsena Gayle, DNP, CNM, ARNP and Diane John, Ph.D., ARNP, FNP-BC )

“As I began this role, I had meetings with students, and I was hearing from them the need to have groups of likeness – affinity groups. I knew when I entered this role that would be one of my priorities. I attended all the first sessions of these groups, and I came away so satisfied and so proud. The students who participated were very vocal as to what it is that is needed. For instance, the LGBTQIA+ students want to meet with me because they want to advocate for curriculum change.”

The meetings are held monthly and are facilitated by faculty, but students drive the goals and purposes of each SIG. The

meetings are not recorded, and minutes are not taken, allowing for free, open, and brave conversations. Approximately 50 students in total attended the initial June meetings. Dr. Alexander-Delpech intended to have one faculty facilitator per group, but her request for facilitators was met with enough interest to have two faculty facilitators per SIG.

“The students will drive all initiatives,” Dr. Alexander-Delpech said. “The SIGS all

The SIGS all have different goals they want to achieve. For instance, one of the goals of the Men in Nursing SIG is to eventually have an FNU chapter in the American Association of Men in Nursing.

have different goals they want to achieve. For instance, one of the goals of the Men in Nursing SIG is to eventually have an FNU chapter in the American Association of Men in Nursing. The International Student in Nursing group wants to have an international trip eventually.”

FNU Establishes Bias Incident Report Advisory Council

Frontier Nursing University is committed to a safe, open, and respectful university where every member is valued and welcomed. The Bias Incident Report Advisory Council was created in 2021 to bring together processes to develop a coordinated approach to responding to implicit and biased incidents at Frontier Nursing University. The aim is to bring together different perspectives and processes from across the University to develop a coordinated approach to responding to biased incidents at the University. A new online system is being implemented for employees and students. The online reporting system will provide an avenue to document perceived or actual bias-related incidents occurring at the University. This would enable FNU to track incidents, refer them to the appropriate parties, coordinate a response, and communicate with others when appropriate.

“If you experience an incident and you want to report it, you can do that via an online form, and you may choose to be anonymous,” Dr. Alexander-Delpech said. “The report goes to the council members, who will then meet to discuss the incident and determine the resolution. That could be something resolved among the council members, something that will go to human resources, or something that will go to a supervisor. That information will be kept so we can have numbers and track incidents related to certain topics so that we as an institution can use it as an educational experience

for us. The Bias Incident Report Advisory Council itself is not punitive. It is a council to identify gaps that we may have.”

FNU Issues Land Acknowledgment

On September 9, in conjunction with the university’s official ribbon-cutting ceremony, FNU is holding a land acknowledgment ceremony. A sign at the trailhead of FNU’s 5K walking path will inform visitors of the land’s history with the Shawnee and Cherokee people.

“I’m really gratified that we are going ahead with the land acknowledgment,” said Dr. Alexander-Delpech, who initiated the idea and solicited the aid of Dr. Rachel Risner, who is Choctaw and Cherokee and is cofounder of the Oklahoma Indigenous Nurses Association, and wrote the text for the sign.

The sign will read: “Frontier Nursing University wants to acknowledge that Versailles, Kentucky is the traditional territory of the Shawnee and Cherokee people. Frontier Nursing University acknowledges this legacy and finds inspiration from this land. We honor the

land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations. Territory or land acknowledgment is our way of recognizing the Indigenous presence in our everyday life.”

“Land acknowledgments are always really important,” Dr. Risner said. “It’s important to know the history behind the land and where it came from, who was there before us and why it matters. To feel the ground under your feet, to know who walked there before you, and appreciate that is the big thing. It is important to have an understanding of some of the terrible things that happened and to be grateful for what we have because of history. There’s so much history that hasn’t been told. A land acknowledgment is a great time for reflection and understanding. I think it’s going to be fantastic.”

FNU Prepares Nurse Educator DEI Faculty Fellows

Led by Dr. Alexander-Delpech, FNU has plans to launch a Nurse Educator DEI Faculty Fellowship program in the late summer or early fall of 2022. The initiative is fully funded by FNU. Eight faculty will be selected as Fellows and will attend a 12-week

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DEI training. Those eight faculty members will then be assigned at least four more faculty whom they will coach for 12 weeks.

“This initiative came out of the President’s DEI Task Force,” Dr. Alexander-Delpech said. “I am so proud that the university has invested in this important development and training for our faculty, who can then lead and learn from one another.”

A national as well as university leader, Dr. Alexander-Delpech presented “The Development of A Faculty DEI Fellows Program” at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s Diversity Leadership Institute in June.

FNU Establishes Safe Space for Students Initiative

One of FNU’s newest initiatives being led by the Office of DEI is the Safe Space for Students. Built on the principles of FNU’s Culture of Caring, Safe Space for Students is designed to improve support for all FNU students. FNU DEI Coordinator Chris Turley and Marketing and Student Recruitment Coordinator Rosalie Seitz have been appointed as Safe Space Liaisons (SSLs).

“The goal is to create a safe space for all students, a space where students can

find a listening ear, encouragement, and guidance,” Dr. Alexander-Delpech said. “It is a space where students can find support when they feel overwhelmed. The primary responsibility of the Safe Space Liaisons is to listen to students and be a resource hub. The SSLs are receiving formal training on allyship and being non judgemental.”

FNU Professional Organizational Mentoring Program

FNU’s Professional Organizational Mentoring Program (POMP) offers underrepresented nurse-midwifery students and nurse practitioner students the opportunity to be mentored by faculty members at designated conferences to expand students’ learning and educational and professional experiences. POMP matches FNU faculty with underrepresented students to provide support and mentorship. POMP is open to any faculty wishing to serve as a mentor for students in the nursemidwifery and nurse practitioner tracks. The program allows faculty mentors to join a professional organization in their field, as well as gives them the opportunity to attend a professional conference. Conference registration and professional membership fees are covered for all faculty mentors and student mentees selected.

American Colleges of NurseMidwives (ACNM) Conference

Faculty Mentor: J. Michelle Lawhorn, DNP, CNM

Student Mentee: Lauren Huggins (CNEP)

American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) Conference

Faculty Mentors: Joanne Keefe, DNP, MPH, FNP-C, CNE; Thomas George, DNP, CRNP, FNP-C, NASM-CPT; and Erin Tenney, DNP, CNM, WHNP, APNP

Student Mentees: Yasmin Alejandro (FNP) and Norah Ezike (FNP)

American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) Conference

Faculty Mentor: Diana Jolles, Ph.D., CNM, FACNM

Student Mentees: Ashia-Lee Brown (CNEP) and Claudia Odubona (CNEP)

National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) Conference

Faculty Mentors: Paula AlexanderDelpech, Ph.D., PMHNP-BC, APRN, and Dorsena Gayle, DNP, CNM, ARNP

DEI By The Numbers

Student Mentees: Tamara Mitchell (FNP), Hannah Howell (CNEP), and Jarai Barry (WHNP)

American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) Conference

Faculty Mentor: Johnni Cansler, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC

Student Mentees: Dorcas Abimaje (PMHNP) and Karletia Lewis (PMHNP)

Gay & Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) Conference

Faculty Mentor: Lee Moore, DNP, MEd, ARNP, PMHNP-BC, CARN-AP

Student Mentee: Malori Hinchen (PMHNP)

Congratulations to the faculty mentors and student mentees selected for the 2022 Professional Organizational Mentoring Program

Frontier Nursing University Selected to Participate in National Initiative to Foster Inclusive Learning Environment

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) announced that Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is one of 50 schools of nursing in the U.S. to have been selected to participate in a national initiative designed to foster inclusive learning environments and build a more diverse nursing workforce. Nearly 250 schools applied to participate in the initiative.

In January 2022, AACN commenced a project titled Building a Culture of Belonging in Academic Nursing with funding from Johnson & Johnson. AACN launched this initiative to help schools of nursing create environments where students, faculty, and staff possess a strong sense of belonging and are encouraged to thrive.

“Creating a learning culture where all individuals are able to develop and do their best work is critical to achieving academic nursing’s goals related to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Dr. Deborah Trautman, AACN President and Chief Executive Officer. “AACN is pleased to join with 50 member schools to pilot test a new tool that will help to evolve how nurse educators approach teaching, learning, and professional engagement.”

To support this project, AACN developed a digital platform to administer its Leading Across Multidimensional Perspectives (LAMP®) Culture and Climate Survey. This instrument collects data on student, faculty, and staff perceptions of their college

classrooms as communities in five thematic areas: fair treatment and observations of discrimination, belongingness, value of diversity and inclusion, campus services, and clinical training.

Using data collected via LAMP, AACN will provide institution-level assessments and action reports to participating schools related to developing inclusive academic environments. This tool provides

Impact Program, PRIDE was specifically intended to raise the level of diversity in student enrollment. In 2010, the enrollment of students of color was 9%. Today, that number has risen to over 27%, and FNU’s DEI efforts have expanded exponentially to include all members and aspects of the FNU community, including curriculum content and faculty and staff diversity, recruitment, and retention.

administrators with a better understanding of how their campus climate influences student experiences and achievement. With assessment data from internal stakeholders, educators are equipped with valuable information needed to initiate change, target areas of growth, and most importantly, improve student outcomes. AACN will also use aggregate data collected from participating schools to identify best practices and success strategies that can be deployed at institutions nationwide.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been an intentional component of Frontier Nursing University’s goals, initiatives, and planning since 2010, when the university launched PRIDE (Promoting Recruitment and Retention to Increase Diversity in Nurse-Midwifery and Nurse Practitioner Education). Now known as the Diversity

“We are honored to have been selected to participate in this important initiative,” said FNU Interim Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Paula Alexander-Delpech, Ph.D., PMHNP-BC, APRN. “We hope that the assessment data collected from students, faculty, and staff will give us valuable information that will guide us to initiate changes, identify target areas for growth, and most importantly, help us to improve student outcomes.”

Schools selected to participate in this pilot study are geographically diverse and represent a range of institutional types (public and private institutions; small and large schools; rural and urban-serving programs, etc.) Having a broad range of participating schools is important to securing results that can be generalizable across all types of nursing schools.

Pilot testing of the LAMP survey will be completed in spring 2023. AACN will disseminate aggregate findings to all schools of nursing next year.

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Dr. Rachel Risner Is Devoted to Helping Others

That is a lot to pack into one year, particularly while her plate remains full at FNU, but Dr. Risner has never been one to shy away from hard work, particularly when that work is in service to others.

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Dr. Risner is Choctaw and Cherokee. With money and resources in short supply growing up, she relied on the caring and generosity of others. Those are gifts that she has paid forward ever since.

Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr. Rachel Risner, Ph.D., DNP, APRN, C-FNP, CNE

The National League for Nursing (NLN) recently announced that Frontier Nursing University Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr. Rachel Risner, Ph.D., DNP, APRN, C-FNP, CNE, has been selected to participate in the NLN’s Leadership Academy (see the full story on page 11). The Leadership Academy, which is a year-long program, “focuses on leadership development for nurse educators and other interprofessional colleagues to develop leadership competencies, integrate social determinants of health and social change into curricula and programs, and engage in research and scholarly activities related to social determinants of health and social change.”

“If it wasn’t for the support from the Choctaw nation, I don’t know how I would have survived as a child,” Dr. Risner said.

“There aren’t a lot of opportunities for tribal support in every state, but in Oklahoma, there is a lot of support from the tribes. I grew up in a very underserved family. I was lucky that I had my medical covered, that I could obtain a scholarship when I was

going to school, and that I had support for clothing. I was able to obtain food when I needed food. They did so much for me growing up that I feel that’s why I do what I do. If I can help somebody else the way that I was helped, it’s really important to me.”

Dr. Risner didn’t wait long to start helping others. She began working in a psychiatric facility for geriatric patients when she was 14. Then, when she was 17, she began working as a home health aid taking care of a young boy with cerebral palsy. She cared for him for seven years and even took him into her home for three years.

“I cared for him all day long,” said Dr. Risner of the young man who sadly passed away at the age of 23. “I took him to school. I took him to prom. I walked him across the stage for graduation. We had a really close relationship. He impacted my life in so many ways. I just knew that by caring for him, I wanted to do more for people.”

She decided a good way to do that would be to become a nurse. While working fulltime as a registered nurse, she graduated from Frontier in 2010 as a family nurse practitioner (FNP). She went into family practice for the next 18 months before being recruited by Oklahoma City University to help write the curriculum for their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) to Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. She went on to earn both her DNP and a Ph.D. in nursing education from Oklahoma City University. Dr. Risner began teaching at Frontier in 2014, holding various positions, including course faculty and course coordinator, before being named the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in 2018.

“My work at Frontier focuses on having a big-picture view of the curriculum, of all programs at the university,” Dr. Risner

“If it wasn’t for the support from the Choctaw nation, I don’t know how I would have survived as a child.”

–Dr. Risner

said. “I have an eye on accreditation, making sure that we are meeting all of our competencies and essentials with all of our accrediting bodies, that we are meeting all of our expectations, and are graduating our students to be everything that our accreditors say they need to be.”

Ensuring these standards are met means identifying gaps in the curriculum. Doing so means that Dr. Risner works closely with many departments and individuals at FNU.

“We strive for consensus and collaboration in Academic Affairs to make sure we are meeting the needs of everybody in every department,” Dr. Risner said. “We can then make sure that we are producing the absolute best product that we can for our students to be successful in each one of our programs so they can meet the needs of the families that they are serving in their practice.”

The curriculum review process is an initiative of the President’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force, which was formed in January 2021. Dr. Risner and the Curriculum and Course Design Coach Audrey Perry, DNP, CNM, began by holding meetings with students, faculty, and staff.

“We wanted to hear from all of our stakeholders to determine what we could do better and how we could make our curriculum more diverse, more equitable, and more inclusive for our students to assist them in being better providers in all of our programs,” Dr. Risner said. By the end of these sessions, she and Dr. Perry were left with hundreds of pages of information, from which they identified five themes common to the stakeholder meetings:

• Social Determinants of Health

• Health Equity

• Anti-Racism

• Cultural Safety

• Social Justice

“We are working on scaffolding these concepts across the curriculum in all of our programs, not only in our didactic courses

but across our clinical courses as well, so our students can be well prepared to apply these concepts when they are in clinical practice working with families,” Dr. Risner said.

Dr. Risner explains that cultural understanding and awareness are extremely important in healthcare to build trust and improve communication. One of the keys to reducing healthcare disparities and improving outcomes is a better understanding of one another’s culture.

“The biggest challenge is just building trust with your patient,” Dr. Risner said. “If you go to a regular clinic, the provider comes in, and they talk really fast. They want to do it all in 15 minutes. You can’t do that with a native person. First, (a native

The subcommittee also worked with FNU’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee to develop guidelines for course faculty and course coordinators concerning imagery in courses.

“Being able to see it through a different lens is extremely important,” Dr. Risner said. “Having so many students from so many different backgrounds and experiences who are looking at our curriculum in different ways is just going to help us do better and make our curriculum even better.”

“The biggest challenge is just building trust with your patient,” Dr. Risner said. “If you go to a regular clinic, the provider comes in, and they talk really fast. They want to do it all in 15 minutes. You can’t do that with a native person. ”

DEI By The Numbers

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person) won’t talk to you because they don’t trust you. It takes so much time to build rapport and trust before you can even begin the visit. That’s what’s so different about going to Indian Health Services here in Oklahoma. I may see 25 patients per day at a clinic that’s not Indian Health Services, but (there) they may only see 10 because they know they will have to go in and build trust and rapport. Just like any culture, you need to know the approach.”

That is a message that Dr. Risner is trying to communicate not only to FNU students but to nurses and healthcare providers across the country. Through her work with NLN, she is part of a workgroup that developed a toolkit for faculty to mentor American Indian and Alaskan Native students. The same group is also developing a nurse mentor portal for faculty across the United States who work with American Indian and Alaskan Native students.

“In training faculty, there is a lot of focus on unconscious bias and microaggression, on how to be a mentor, what it means to have a mentoring relationship, including the

cultural aspects of what it means to work with students who have an American Indian Alaskan Native background,” said Dr. Risner.

Dr. Risner is also involved as a group coach in the NLN Step Into Leadership Program, which is aimed at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Through coaching sessions, she helps senior undergraduate nursing students transition into leadership positions after graduation.

Dr. Risner’s leadership and impact are felt in organizations large – such as FNU and NLN – and small, such as the Oklahoma Indigenous Nurses Association. Only about 18 months old, this organization was formed by a group of five Indigenous nurses, including Dr. Risner. It is the first Indigenous nurses association in the state.

“There were five of us that had a like-minded goal. We’re all from different tribes, and it’s really exciting. Our Facebook page has now surpassed 100 nurses that are native here in the state,” Dr. Risner said from her home in Oklahoma City.

The group meets monthly and has a guest speaker at each meeting. As the group has grown and word has spread, so has the demand to speak at a monthly meeting. Speakers are now being scheduled over a year in advance. The calendar is filling up, and, more importantly, so has the group’s influence.

“We were able to provide feedback on the American Nurses Association (ANA) racial reckoning statement,” Dr. Risner said. “They took into consideration some of our feedback – not all of it, but they did listen. They have been in contact with our tiny little group and have asked us to participate in some research with the ANA because there are not a lot of indigenous nurses associations around, so we are trying to do as much as we can.”

The group mirrors Dr. Risner, who seemingly devotes every waking minute to serving others.

“I just try to do as much as possible to help anybody I can,” she said. “I just like helping other people.”

Audrey Perry and Rachel Risner Present at Coursetune Camp

Coursetune’s 5th annual virtual partner and prospect event was held on June 17th. The all-day focused on how to change the conversations about curriculum, student outcomes, and alignment. FNU faculty Audrey Perry, DNP, CNM, CNE, and Rachel Risner, Ph.D., DNP, APRN, C-FNP, CNE, presented “Roadmap of Change – How Frontier Nursing University is Shifting the Narrative.”

Frontier Nursing University is proud to announce that Dr. Rachel Risner, Ph.D., DNP, APRN, C-FNP, CNE, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, has been selected to participate in the National League for Nursing & Walden University College of Nursing Institute for Social Determinants of Health & Social Change. Dr. Risner attended an orientation to the Social Determinants of Health & Social Change Leadership Academy, held in Washington, D.C., August 8-9. The orientation was the start of the year-long program, which is a key element of a groundbreaking collaboration between the League and Walden University College of NursingInstitute for Social Determinants of Health and Social Change, launched last year to bring about positive social change through focused professional development.

Dr. Risner was chosen through a competitive application process for her dedicated work in social determinants of health and social change, which address the impact of structural racism, socioeconomic status, environment, education, adequate housing, and food insecurity on health and wellbeing.

“We are so proud and fortunate to have Dr. Risner at Frontier Nursing University,” said FNU Dean of Nursing Dr. Joan Slager, CNM, DNP, FACNM, FAAN. “She is a dedicated leader with a strong commitment to FNU’s vision for

educating our students about the social determinants of health and the delivery of equitable health care.”

In addition to her work with FNU, Dr. Risner has traveled as a consultant for government hospitals in the Middle East with American Gulf International Consulting and has taught the Certified Professional in Infection Control course in the Middle East with the American Institute of Healthcare Quality. She earned an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (RN) from Oklahoma City Community College, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Oklahoma City University, a Master of Science in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Frontier Nursing University, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice and a Ph.D. in Nursing Education from Oklahoma City University.

“My job, my goal is to teach, motivate, and inspire faculty, as well as oversee the curriculum at Frontier Nursing University,” Dr. Risner said. “I strive to be the person faculty look to for knowledge and guidance. My wish is to end each working day with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that I made a positive impact on at least one person I’ve encountered that day. I am looking forward to participating in the NLN Leadership Academy and engaging with other link-minded colleagues over the next year.”

“The National League for Nursing is delighted to join with the Walden University College of Nursing in this exciting new endeavor,” said NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone, Ph.D., RN, FAAN. “The year of planned activities focuses on scholarly writing, research, curriculum development, and building leadership competencies, all designed to facilitate their leading role in preparing future caregivers to provide outstanding culturally sensitive care while focusing on systems and structures that advance the health of our nation and the global community.”

“The caliber of this inaugural Leadership Academy cohort is a demonstration of how important the collaboration is between the National League for Nursing and Walden University’s College of Nursing for addressing the social determinants of health and social change,” said Dr. Andrea Lindell, RN, ANEF, vice provost at Walden University. “I am excited and proud that the selection of this distinguished group is another vital step toward making a profound change in health education and outcomes for vulnerable populations.”

The Leadership Academy is overseen by the NLN Center for Transformational Leadership. For more information, visit NLNWaldenSDOH.org.

Dr. Rachel Risner Selected for National League for Nursing & Walden University College of Nursing Institute for Social Determinants of Health & Social Change

Elizabeth Akinyemi Came to the U.S. to Learn; Now She’s Ready to Teach

goes a long way in ensuring patients are well educated about their health, that they have the tools they need, and that they know what to do if things get worse. My patients leave visits feeling like they have a working plan. It is reassuring to them. Nursing taught me that.”

It was a lesson she almost never learned. An excellent student at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, she came to the U.S. when she was 20 years old and stayed with her aunt in Houston, and began attending college. The high costs of medical school were more than she had anticipated, but chemical engineering, not nursing, was her next choice.

Akinyemi realized that chemical engineering was not for her.

“I did not take into consideration a core piece of my personality,” Akinyemi said. “Significance is one of my top strengths –what I do has to be meaningful to me. One of my other top strengths is being a relator. I love to connect with people”

Being isolated in a pilot lab and with little in the way of interactions, she found chemical engineering unfulfilling. Two years later, she had her second child and continued to be a full-time mother, raising her two young children, cherishing that time while also keeping an eye on her professional future. If chemical engineering was out, what was in?

When Frontier Nursing University alumnus Dr. Elizabeth Akinyemi, DNP (Class 39), FNP, came to the United States from Nigeria, she had no plans to become a nurse. She dreamed of becoming a doctor, though teaching might have been an even better choice, given her tendency to quiz her patients.

“I describe myself as a fierce patient educator. I love to teach my patients,” said Dr. Akinyemi, who worked for four years as a family nurse practitioner at Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas with more than 50 hospitals and 800 additional patient care sites. “I won’t let you leave the clinic until you are sure about what you are doing. Lack of education can lead to unnecessary clinic visits and poor patient outcomes. I'll ask my patients questions during the visit to gauge their attention and to assess their understanding of instructions. Spending that extra minute or two reinforcing knowledge

Dr. Akinyemi did not enjoy her first U.S. college in Houston, so she transferred to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. That experience was much more to her liking. Not only did she meet her husband, Ladi Akinyemi, there, but she also found a welcoming community and life-long friends.

“Nebraska was predominantly Caucasian in population, which was a new experience for me coming from Nigeria,” Dr. Akinyemi laughed, “but it was a great experience. Nebraskans are very welcoming, and the University in Lincoln attracts so many different people from all over the world. The beauty of it is that I got to contribute to the diversity in the university community and in Lincoln. I still have family and friends in Nebraska, and we visit at least once a year.”

Dr. Akinyemi graduated with a degree in chemical engineering and found a job in that field. A year later, she and her husband had their first child. She became a full-time mom but knew she would return to work eventually. As that time approached, Dr.

“I got interested in nursing because I had used a pediatric nurse practitioner for my children, and she was beyond amazing,” Dr. Akinyemi said. “She would educate me and give me a lot of information. I never felt rushed during our visits and always felt like my confidence was boosted in my knowledge of caring for my young kids. She inspired me and became my mentor.”

After five years as a full-time mother, Dr. Akinyemi went through the University of Nebraska’s one-year accelerated bachelor’s in nursing degree program, graduating with highest distinction in 2012. The Akinyemi’s then moved to Austin, Texas, where she found a job as a registered nurse. She enrolled part-time at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, working toward becoming a nurse practitioner. Akinyemi’s first job as a nurse practitioner was at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in the Austin area.

“I enjoy working with underinsured and underrepresented, vulnerable or just

Dr. Elizabeth Akinyemi, DNP, FNP

neglected,” Dr. Akinyemi said. “I loved it, but it’s an extremely busy environment with many hours spent at home after work catching up on charting. Anyone who works in that environment knows that you’re overworked and underpaid. With my kids being school-age, I just didn’t have a good work-family life balance. I worked there for about a year and a half and then switched to a different role at Baylor Scott & White.”

Dr. Akinyemi came to understand that the reason a career in nursing didn’t occur to her sooner was that nurses in Nigeria play a very different role than nurses in the U.S. do.

“I didn’t really know much about the nursing model in the U.S.,” she said. “Being raised in a different country, you don’t know what you don’t know. Nurses do so much more here in the U.S. In Nigeria, I feel like nursing is almost overlooked. This could also be because medicine, engineering, and law are valued in that society as more prestigious. Here in the U.S, there’s so much that you have to know as a nurse. It fulfilled the need that I always had. The nursing model is so patient-centric and patientfocused and all about building trust. As nurses, this is just who we are. We are skilled at building trust. It’s a great honor and privilege to be in this position.”

At Baylor Scott & White, Akinyemi worked with Frontier Nursing alumnus Tarnia Newton (DNP, Class 28). Newton suggested getting her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), but Dr. Akinyemi was skeptical about how much it would really advance her career. She questioned what she would learn that she didn’t already know.

“Tarnia had a different way of thinking and looking at problems,” Dr. Akinyemi said. “This is what the DNP does. It helps you become more analytic and a problem solver who tries to figure out root causes and solutions. There was this difference between Tarnia and me. She sold the Frontier Nursing DNP, and I bought into it. Frontier was the only place I applied to.”

Even though the pandemic forced her to attend Frontier Bound virtually, Dr.

Akinyemi quickly connected to the university and her classmates.

“I had never been in an environment that just brings you in, includes you, makes you feel loved and cared for,” she said.

She also found the curriculum to be different and challenging in ways she hadn’t expected. She learned about shared decision-making and enjoyed seeing how the foundation established in the early classes built up to more and more advanced ideas and concepts. It was difficult and rewarding at the same time.

While at Baylor Scott & White, Akinyemi filled many roles. She worked as a family nurse practitioner in one of their family medicine clinics, which is where she did her quality improvement project. She also worked in the walk-in clinic, which provided urgent care, and began doing more and more telemedicine as the pandemic wore on.

Dr, Akinyemi completed her DNP in March of 2022. She also continued to work while raising her family, which now includes three children, ages 15, 13, and 5. Balancing work life and home life is always challenging, but she is excited about the solution she has found.

“It’s a different kind of learning,” she said. “In my past learning, you give me the material, I study it, I’m confident, I take the exam, and I move on. In the DNP, you’re trying to discover what you need to learn.”

At the end of the DNP program, students complete a quality improvement project, usually in their place of employment.

Dr. Akinyemi’s project was focused on improving hypertension. She implemented it at her clinic, which fully embraced and participated in the project. Akinyemi hopes to publish her paper “Increasing Effective Care of High Blood Pressure Using“ and intends to present it at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) conference.

“The way I think about healthcare has definitely been transformed, and this is a result of going through Frontier’s very objective DNP program,” Dr. Akinyemi said. “I came out of the program feeling more confident about my ability to contribute positively to any clinical quality improvement initiative”

She plans to continue in family practice and the telemedicine space for now and hopefully explore roles in administration and academia in the future. “We will see where it all leads,” she said. “I’m trying to balance moving ahead in my career while making sure I’m carrying my family along. I really hope that someday I can come back to Frontier and teach. That is one of my hopes. It would be great to encourage the next generation of students.”

She credits all of her FNU instructors and classmates who helped her acquire her DNP, but she especially acknowledges DNP clinical faculty Dr. Diana Jolles, Ph.D., CNM, for her tutelage and leadership.

“Dr. Jolles is awesome,” Akinyemi said. “She’s an amazing human being, instructor, and mentor. She carried our cohort group very well. She’s very humble and easy to connect with.”

It’s a model of instruction she hopes to emulate with her patients and future students.

“This is the best educational program that I’ve ever attended, and I’ve attended five universities,” Dr. Akinyemi said of FNU. “I’ve never felt more connected to a place, more encouraged. For this to be an online program and still have that impact, you know that Frontier is doing something very well.”

"I had never been in an environment that just brings you in, includes you, makes you feel loved and cared for.”

Russian-Born Viktoriya Kashin’s Mission to Aid Ukrainians

“I was a senior in high school and didn’t know what I was going to do. I took a health science class. It was just basic things – taking blood pressure and learning about the human body. One day my teacher said, ‘You would make a great nurse.’ Two of my friends wanted to be nurses, and my mom also encouraged me to go into the medical field. She was sick a lot off and on, and she passed away while I was in nursing school. This devastated me, but she inspired me to live for others. Seeing her care at the hospital and the difference nurses made motivated me to become a nurse, and then later a nurse practitioner.”

but that she would need to expand her training and education to do so.

“I felt I was restricted as a nurse because my knowledge base was limited,” Dr. Kashin said. “In 2014, my dad had a pulmonary embolism. Being in a room with him and unable to help him felt horrible, so I decided to go back to school, and I applied to Frontier.”

Dr. Viktoriya Kashin, DNP, FNP

Dr. Kashin, who completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, realized that she had the potential to do more for her patients

“I loved Frontier,” said Dr. Kashin, who now works in maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) at the University of Florida Health Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. “Going back to school as an adult is a completely different experience. I wanted to learn, and I really loved it. The Frontier faculty and staff were extremely invested in my success and very supportive. I struggled in undergrad so

When Russia began its attack on Ukraine in February, the images were shocking and terrifying. The heartbreaking scenes of devastation and destruction impacted everyone, but it was all particularly impactful to Frontier Nursing University alumnus Viktoriya Kashin, DNP (Class 32), FNP, who was born in Russia. Her family immigrated to the United States in 1994 when she was 8. She traveled to Russia and Ukraine several times, staying connected to her homeland through friends and family. As the war began and casualties mounted, she knew she had to find a way to help. As a family nurse practitioner, Dr. Kashin, of course, is uniquely qualified to provide medical aid, and her knowledge and experience were needed in the war-torn country.

“The reason I became a nurse was because of my high school teacher,” said Dr. Kashin, who attended high school in Tennessee.

Dr. Viktoriya Kashin with her brother, Oleg, outside of the refugee center

much that I never thought I could do well in a doctorate program, but I graduated with a 4.0. Frontier had a lot of emphasis on rural medicine and helping underserved people. This lines up exactly with my life’s vision. I was always interested in working with the marginalized and poor. I think it is because I know what it is like to live on the other side of the railroad tracks and have very little. Even now, I work with a population that does not have regular access to medical care, many do not have insurance unless they are pregnant. Frontier helped frame my thinking and opened my eyes to many health care disparities, and is why I did not go into private practice.”

In her first three years in MFM, Dr. Kashin worked outpatient, but a year ago, she switched to inpatient care. Among the conditions that she helps treat are patients with premature rupture of membranes (PROM). These patients’ water ruptures early, and they are hospitalized to help prevent them from delivering too early. The MFM team also treats preeclampsia, which is high blood pressure during pregnancy. Those with severe cases of preeclampsia are hospitalized and treated to help them remain pregnant as long as possible while preventing seizures or other complications. Other conditions treated include diabetes, multiple gestations, fetal anomalies, and infections.

The high-risk and labor halls are all closely connected, as is the tight-knit staff. A typical shift consists of 12 nurses and three residents, including a general attending, an MFM attending, a nurse practitioner, or a certified nurse-midwife.

“We share a workspace and often help each other out,” Dr. Kashin said.

That level of support came into full view when Dr. Kashin answered the call to go on a mission trip to help the people of Ukraine. Her hospital was no stranger to the nursing shortage prevalent throughout the country, yet her request was met with nothing but support.

“I told my boss I needed 3 weeks off, and he said, ‘What can I say? It’s for humanity,’”

said Dr. Kashin, who created a fundraiser to help pay for the mission trip. “Many people had to step up and cover for me at work. My co-workers even organized a bake sale, collecting thousands of dollars. They also put out a department-wide email with my fundraiser links, and many donations came from the faculty and staff at the University

of Florida. They were immeasurably kind and supportive.”

Dr. Kashin had always thought about going on a medical mission. She just didn’t think it would be such a personal trip.

“When the war broke out, I really wanted to help but didn’t know how. A few days after the war started, my childhood friend Natasha sent me a message stating that they need Russian-speaking female medical professionals (because most of the refugees were women),” Dr. Kashin said. “All that matched up with me. It was like an answer to prayer. At that point, I knew I had to go.”

Along with her coworkers, Dr. Kashin received tremendous support from her community, who supported her GoFundMe campaign. Her brother, Oleg, also went on the trip, and her church paid for their tickets to and from Ukraine. Overall, they raised over $20,000, which they were able to give to people in Ukraine to help with food and other supplies.

Her mission trip, which lasted 20 days and was organized through Crisis Response International, began by flying into Krakow, Poland, and then driving to Ukraine.

Dr. Viktoriya Kashin stands in front of the refugee center’s makeshift medicine cabinet.

Volunteers sort through and organize supplies for the refugees.

“We stayed in a small city an hour away from Poland,” Dr. Kashin said. “It was an old hospital that was only functioning on the first floor. The other levels were empty for decades, and that is where the refugees moved in. Our team, however, rented a couple of rooms in a gym and stayed on the top floor. We just had two rooms – one for the guys, one for the girls. We didn’t always have hot water. The heat wasn’t working. There wasn’t a stove or kitchen. We were definitely roughing it.”

The refugee center was organized by a husband and wife who had a longstanding connection to local orphanages. The husband himself was an orphan growing up, and the couple had also adopted two orphans.

“They got in touch with the orphanages and brought the orphans from all over Ukraine to the refugee center,” Dr. Kashin said. “From there, the orphans were sent to Austria and Germany. Every day there would be a bus full of kids leaving and going elsewhere. That’s how they started the refugee center. They had a chef that was a refugee herself who volunteered her services. They would cook three meals every day. There was a little office that we made into a clinic. It was easier just to show up with a stethoscope around your neck than to make appointments. The refugees would just stop you in the hall and tell you whatever ailed them, often inviting us into their rooms. Every day I would go in and see patients. I had a couple of pregnant patients and a couple of newborn babies. We also went to train stations and gave out goodie bags full of supplies. One day we met a pregnant woman that didn’t have anywhere to go. She and her family were able to come to the refugee center that same night to have a place to stay.”

Dr. Kashin explained that drivers would take vans into the ravaged areas and pick people up and get them out. Some of the money that Dr. Kashin and her brother raised helped repair the vans and protect the drivers, who were frequently under fire.

Activities for the refugee children included making arts and crafts.

Even in the relative safety of the refugee center, however, there was an element of constant threat and danger.

“Every day, the bomb sirens would go off,” Dr. Kashin said. “Many people at the refugee center had PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Every time a door slammed, they would jump.”

Despite the constant reminders of the violence all around them, the volunteers did their best to make the refugee center as comfortable and welcoming as they could. In addition to the meals, room to sleep, and access to medical care, a hairstylist gave haircuts, and other women offered massages. Often, the refugees just wanted someone to talk to.

“They just wanted to tell you where they came from, their pets they left behind, their husband or brother or father who is fighting,” Dr. Kashin said. “We just sat with them and listened and offered encouragement and tried to give them any help we could. I held back a lot of tears.”

In addition to the supplies they brought with them, the refugee center regularly

received shipments of humanitarian aid from the U.S. and other European countries, including diapers and formula (before the formula shortage), warm clothes, and medications.

“The airline didn’t charge us for extra bags because it was humanitarian aid,” Dr. Kashin said. “It was really neat to see how the U.S. and the whole world responded to Ukraine.”

After 20 days, Dr. Kashin returned to the U.S., but her brother remained in Ukraine, continuing to forge relationships and deliver supplies.

“It was hard coming back. I had a little bit of survivor’s guilt,” Dr. Kashin said.

“This is pretty much home country. If I didn’t come to the U.S. as a child, what would my life be? I could be one of those women that were raped and killed. It is horrendous to think about.”

She intends to return to Ukraine at some point. In the meantime, she continues to raise funds for supplies and remains in contact with many of the people she met there. More difficult, however, is communicating with her Russian family. The topic of “war” is completely off-limits.

Beyond a return trip to Ukraine, Dr. Kashin’s plans are wide open, thanks to MFM being such a large field. She can continue or perhaps select something new.

“I really love women’s health she said. “There is so much to learn in this field. I would like to do more medical mission work in the future. For now, I am happy where I’m at.”

One thing she does know is that the people of Ukraine will persevere.

“They are running out of gas, and they have nothing to fight with. But they are a very resilient people,” she said. “Even though the war is still going, certain parts of Ukraine are being rebuilt already. I’m very thankful for everyone who has shown support with money, encouragement, and prayer.”

Dr. Eileen Thrower Named Department Chair for the Department of Midwifery and Women’s Health

Dr. Eileen Thrower, Ph.D., CNM, ARPRN, CNE, FACNM

In May, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) announced Eileen Thrower, Ph.D., CNM, APRN, CNE, FACNM, as the Department Chair for the Department of Midwifery and Women’s Health.

Dr. Thrower, who joined the faculty at FNU as an assistant professor in 2016, had been serving as Interim Department Chair since September of 2021. Prior to serving as the Interim Department Chair, Dr. Thrower held the position of Clinical Director for the department.

“I am grateful for Dr. Thrower’s commitment to Frontier, her creativity, and her leadership,” said FNU Dean of Nursing Dr. Joan Slager, CNM, DNP, FACNM, FAAN. “I look forward to her future contributions to Frontier and the Department of Midwifery and Women’s Health.”

Dr. Thrower has been a practicing nursemidwife in the Atlanta area since 1990. She received her master of nursing in nurse-midwifery from Emory University in 1990 and her Ph.D. in Nursing with a nursing education focus from Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University in 2016. She is a Fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and a certified nurse educator. She volunteers at a community clinic where she provides gynecologic care.

“We are so excited to announce Dr. Thrower as the Department Chair of the Department of Midwifery and Women’s

Health,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone, CNM, DNSc, FAAN, FACNM. “She has distinguished herself as an outstanding nurse-midwife and educator and as a leader and advocate for nursing and nurse-midwifery.”

Since March 2020, Dr. Thrower has been part of the Georgia Infant Mortality Workgroup, a collaborative effort by the Department of Public Health, Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia. This statewide, multi-sector workgroup is striving to address infant mortality throughout the State of Georgia.

“I am so proud to be with Frontier Nursing University and am honored to

be named the Department Chair of the Department of Midwifery and Women’s Health,” Dr. Thrower said. “The work we do is incredibly impactful in the lives of women, children, and families across the country. I am so inspired by the amazing contributions our students and alumni make in their communities.”

In 2020, Dr. Thrower was selected by the FNU students for the “Student Choice Excellence in Teaching Academic Faculty Award”. The award, which is presented as part of the annual commencement activities, honors the faculty members who have inspired and impacted students throughout the year. Here are a few comments collected from the student nominations for the award:

“Dr. Thrower has done an incredible job of running the virtual clinical courses for WHNP and CNEP students this summer. She is a wonderful resource and an incredible instructor who truly cares about each and every student. I feel so fortunate to be able to have this opportunity to learn and grow as an NP student from her before I venture into the real world!”

“Dr. Thrower always comes prepared. [She is] calm, cool, and collected and makes the most of whatever life and technology throws our way. I appreciate her dedication to her job and her students. She has made herself very reachable and encourages us to contact her whenever we need to. She is doing a great job.”

Dr. Thrower was announced as FNU’s new Department Chair for the Department of Midwifery and Women’s Health during the American College of Nurse-Midwives annual conference in May.

“Dr. Thrower deserves this award because of her role in creating and carrying out the most valuable virtual clinical experience possible! She juggles multiple bound sessions, hundreds of students, coordinates faculty, and still makes every student feel important and heard. I love listening to her pearls of wisdom, and gaining confidence as I work through the course. I feel very lucky to have her as my first ‘preceptor’!”

Dr. Catherine Collins-Fulea Selected as American Academy of Nursing Fellow

the FNU faculty in January 2019. She has also been active professionally on both the state and national levels with the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), having recently completed a two-year term as the president of ACNM. She has also chaired many ACNM committees, including the national quality management section, the division of standards and practice, the service directors network, and the volunteer structure re-alignment task force. In addition, she has served as a regional representative on the ACNM board of directors and for two terms as vice president.

forward to doing my part to help forward the Academy’s mission.”

The Academy serves the public by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge. Academy Fellows are inducted into the organization for their extraordinary contributions to improve health locally and globally. With more than 2,900 Fellows, the Academy represents nursing’s most accomplished leaders in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia.

The American Academy of Nursing (Academy) announced that Frontier Nursing University (FNU) Assistant Professor Catherine Collins-Fulea, DNP, CNM, FACNM, has been selected to be inducted into the 2022 Class of Fellows. Dr. Collins-Fulea is one of 250 distinguished nursing leaders selected by the Academy who will be formally inducted into the 2022 Class of Fellows during the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference, October 27-29 in Washington, D.C.

After completing her basic nursing and midwifery education in England, CollinsFulea opened an in-hospital birthing center at Grace Hospital in Detroit in 1981 when only five other certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) were practicing in the entire state. She joined the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit in 1991, where she started a new practice with six other CNMs. Over the years, she grew this practice into one of the most respected in the state, leading 22 midwives at two hospitals and practicing in eight outpatient centers.

Collins-Fulea, who received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from FNU, joined

“We are very proud to have Dr. CollinsFulea at Frontier,” said FNU Dean of Nursing Dr. Joan Slager, CNM, DNP, FACNM, FAAN, who was selected as an American Academy of Nursing fellow in 2020. “As a national leader and advocate for nursing and nurse-midwifery, she continues to set a great example for her students and fellow faculty. “

“I am truly honored to be selected for induction as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing,” Dr. Collins-Fulea said. “The Academy is highly regarded for its longstanding commitment to promote and advocate for the nursing profession. I look

“As the American Academy of Nursing’s President, it gives me great pride to announce the largest class of Fellows since the organization began nearly 50 years ago,” said Kenneth R. White, Ph.D., RN, AGACNP, ACHPN, FACHE, FAAN. “At a time when investments in, and policy to address, health equity, innovation, and access are paramount, the Academy is thrilled to welcome these dynamic and courageous nurse leaders who will support our collective vision of healthy lives for all people. Induction in the Academy is a powerful moment in a nurse’s career. When we gather this fall, to award the Fellowship credential, I look forward to celebrating each Fellow’s incredible accomplishments that have improved the well-being of communities across the globe.”

Through a competitive and rigorous application process, the Academy’s Fellow Selection Committee, which is comprised of elected and appointed Fellows, reviewed a record number of applications, representing a 30% increase from the previous year, ultimately selecting the 2022 Fellows based on their contributions to advance the public’s health. Induction into the Academy is a significant milestone in which past and current accomplishments are honored by their colleagues within and outside the profession.

“The Academy is highly regarded for its longstanding commitment to promote and advocate for the nursing profession. I look forward to doing my part to help forward the Academy’s mission.”

Assistant Professor Catherine CollinsFulea, DNP, CNM, FACNM

Frontier Nursing University Community Members Recognized at 2022 ACNM Conference

Clinical Officer at CHOICES Memphis Center for Reproductive Health, where they have opened the first non-profit comprehensive reproductive health care center in the country and the first birth center in Memphis. The conference also marked the end of FNU Assistant Professor Cathy Collins-Fulea’s two-year tenure as the ACNM President. She was succeeded by former FNU faculty member Heather Clarke.

FNU Faculty & Student Presentations

In May, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) faculty, staff, students, alumni, and preceptors had the opportunity to attend the 67th Annual American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) Meeting and Exhibition in Chicago. The conference was held in person for the first time in two years. FNU was extremely well represented at the conference, not only in numbers but also in awards, honors, and presentations.

Eight FNU faculty were inducted as ACNM Fellows (shown at top). Additionally, three other FNU faculty members were presented with awards.

Instructor Heidi Loomis, MSN, CRNP, CNM, received the ACNM Foundation’s 2022 W. Newton Long Award for the Advancement of Midwifery. Associate Professor Kate Woeber, Ph.D., CNM, MPH, FACNM, was awarded a Thacher Community Grant in “support of small yet high-impact community-based projects that promote excellence in health care for women, infants, and families worldwide”

Assistant Professor Kendra Faucett, DNP, CNM, CNE, FACNM, received the “Excellence in Teaching” Award.

FNU alumnus Nikia Grayson, DNP, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C (Class 142), was inducted as one of three new ACNM Board members. Grayson is the Chief

Assistant Professor Kendra Faucett, DNP, CNM, CNE, FACNM: American Midwifery Certification Board Boot Camp Test Prep Workshop & Test Taking Tips

Associate Professor Laura Manns-James, Ph.D., CNM, WHNP-BC, CNE, FACNM: Reducing Racism in Midwifery Education: Using the Program Content Toolkit

Instructor Mary Kay Miller, DNP, CNM: Promoting Vaginal Intended Deliveries (PROVIDE) in Florida: Quality improvement lessons learned from three DNP Projects

Instructor Cathy Cook, DNP, CNM: Implementing a Patient-Centered Virtual Wellness Program in a Select Population During a Global Pandemic

Instructor Jill Alliman, DNP, CNM, Laura Manns-James, Ph.D., CNM, WHNP-BC, CNE, FACNM, and Assistant Professor Shaughanassee Vines, DNP: Racial Health Equity and Cesarean Birth in the Birth Center Model of Care

Instructor Cindy Farina, MSN, CNM: Ibrexafungerp, A New Antifungal Agent for the Treatment of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Poster Presentation

Current DNP Students Oluwatope Alaofin and Adi Lazary-Dagan: Reproductive Justice to Adolescents in Texas: A Social Justice Analysis

Additional highlights of the conference included:

• FNU Dean of Nursing Dr. Joan Slager, CNM, DNP, FACNM, FAAN, signed copies of the book Administrative Manual for Midwifery Practices for attendees. Dr. Slager authored the chapter on billing and coding.

• FNU nurse-midwifery student Lauren Huggins attended the conference with FNU Instructor Michele Lawhorn, DNP, CNM, as part of FNU’s Professional Organizational Mentoring Program (POMP). POMP offers underrepresented nurse-midwifery students and nurse practitioner students the opportunity to be mentored by faculty members at designated conferences, such as the ACNM annual meeting. It expands students’ educational and professional experiences.

• The FNU Alumni and Friends Reception celebrated the life of midwifery pioneer and leader Kitty Ernst.

Dr. Jill Alliman Elected to American Association of Birth Centers Board of Directors

This summer, the American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) held elections for the AABC Board of Directors. Among those elected to serve on the Board of Directors is FNU Assistant Professor Dr. Jill Alliman, DNP, CNM, FACNM. AABC “promotes and supports freestanding birth centers and alongside midwifery units in all communities to achieve a high-value model of evidence-based care that is equitable, safe, and respectful.”

Dr. Vicky Stone-Gale Receives Advocate State Award for Excellence from AANP

FNU Associate Professor Dr. Vicky StoneGale, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP was awarded the 2022 Advocate State Award for Excellence by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. The Advocate State Award for Excellence is given to an individual in each state who has made a significant contribution toward increasing awareness and recognition of NPs. Examples of past recipients have been physicians, legislators, and educators. NPs are also eligible for the advocate award for non-clinical practice initiatives related to leadership, precepting, policy, politics, research, education, or community affairs.

Executive Vice President for Finance and Facilities Michael Steinmetz Retires

FNU Executive Vice President for Finance and Facilities Michael Steinmetz, CPM, CMA, CSCA, announced his retirement this summer. After nearly 13 years at the university, his last full day was on August 12.

“FNU has been a truly wonderful place to work, and I value the friends I have made throughout the university,” Steinmetz said. “I will miss our collaboration and the daily striving to fulfill our mission. You will all be in my thoughts and prayers.”

Steinmetz was instrumental in numerous initiatives and milestones at FNU, including the identification and purchase of the Versailles campus. He subsequently oversaw the processes of donating the Hyden campus and property to Leslie County Betterment, Inc. to benefit Hyden and the surrounding community.

Steinmetz drove FNU’s mission to be a data-driven institution and led the efforts to select and implement a data dashboard and workflow systems. He also served as the Chief Financial Officer for Frontier Nursing Service, Incorporated, helping to oversee the charitable foundation’s planning and investments.

“Michael has been an integral part of the leadership and planning for our university,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone, CNM, DNSc, FAAN, FACNM. “He has been a trusted advisor, always acting with the university’s best interests at heart. His keen and diligent oversight of the university’s financial position has been invaluable to past, current, and future success.”

Microscopes

Needed

FNU is seeking donations of microscopes in good condition for our students to use as they develop their clinical skills. If you would like to donate, please contact Chief Advancement Officer Bobbi Silver at (859) 251-4739 or bobbi.silver@frontier.edu.

FNU Student Jasmine Mason Awarded NBNA Scholarship

The National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) announced that FNU nursemidwifery student Jasmine Mason is one of eight recipients of a $10,000 scholarship from the Abbott Scholarship Fund. Selection criteria include interest in primary care, clinical research and improving diversity in clinical trials, financial needs, academic performance, and a desire to serve vulnerable populations.

PMHNP Student Margaret Wilk Awarded Scholarship to Attend National Conference

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) student Margaret Wilk was one of 30 students selected as an American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) Board of Directors Student Scholar. Each of the student scholars receives a scholarship to attend APNA’s 36th annual conference, October 19-22, in Long Beach, California, as well as a one-year complimentary APNA membership.

Suture Donations Needed for Clinical Bound

Clinical Bound is a week-long skills-intensive event that prepares students to begin clinical experiences with preceptors in their home communities. Students and faculty from the nurse-midwifery, family nurse practitioner (FNP), women’s health nurse practitioner (WHNP), and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) programs participate in Clinical Bounds. Students learn foundational skills, such as hand maneuvers for attending births, suturing techniques, and performing patient histories and physical exams that will prepare them to enter clinical sites. Students also practice conducting patient visits using clinical simulations that students perform under the observation of their instructors. These simulations allow students to experience patient interactions in a simulated environment. It is important that the simulations are realistic to help students gain confidence in their skills and clinical decision-making before working with actual patients.

One of the costly ongoing expenses for Clinical Bound is suture. Financial donations toward the purchase of suture may be made online by visiting Frontier.edu/give-to-fnu/ and selecting “Clinical Training Supplies.” Also, Frontier can accept donations of expired suture in its original packaging. Donations of suture can be sent to:

Frontier Nursing University

Attn: Dr. Joan Slager, Dean of Nursing

2050 Lexington Road

Versailles, KY 40383

Faculty Publications

Following is a list of articles and chapters recently published by FNU faculty members:

Wise, G. and Jolles, D. (2019). Promoting effective care: Reducing primary cesarean births through team engagement and standardization of care at a community hospital. Nurse Forum. DOI: https://doi. org/10.1111/nuf.1238

Jolles, Diana R. Ph.D., CNM; Montgomery, Tiffany M. Ph.D., MSHP, RNCOB; Blankstein Breman, Rachel Ph.D., MPH, RN; George, Erin MSN, CNM; Craddock, Jaih Ph.D., MSW, MA; Sanders, Sarah MPH; Niemcyzk, Nancy Ph.D., CNM; Stapleton, Susan DNP, CNM; Bauer, Kate MBA; Wright, Jennifer MA Place of Birth Preferences and Relationship to Maternal and Newborn Outcomes Within the American Association of Birth Centers Perinatal Data Registry, 20072020, The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing: April/June 2022 - Volume 36 - Issue 2 - p 150-160 doi: 10.1097/ JPN.0000000000000647

Standard, Venus MSN, CNM, APRN, FACNM, LCCE, CD(DONA); JonesBeatty, Kimberly DNP, MSN, CNM;

and Presentations

Joseph-Lemon, Lodz MSN, MPH, CNM; Marcelle, Ebony DNP, CNM, FACNM; Morris, Charlotte E. DNP, CNM, FACNM; Williams, Trinisha MPH, CM, LM, LCCE, FACCE; Brown, Tracie MSN, CNM; Oura, Haley Shizuka BS, MPH; Stapleton, Susan DNP, CNM; Jolles, Diana R. Ph.D., CNM. Progesterone and Preterm Birth: Using Empirical Research to Explore Structural Racism Within Midwifery-Led Care. The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing: July/September 2022 - Volume 36 - Issue 3 - p 256-263 doi: 10.1097/ JPN.0000000000000664

Kwiatkowski LR, Jolles DR, Edwards C. Overuse, underuse, and misuse: Improving effective primary care at a Federally Qualified Health Center. Nursing Forum March 2022. doi:10.1111/nuf.12718

Wortman, P. (2022). Obstetric guidelines.

In J. C. Cash & C. A. Glass (Eds.), AdultGerontology Practice Guidelines 3rd ed.). New York: Springer

Wortman, P. (2022). Obstetric guidelines. In J. C. Cash & C. A. Glass (Eds.), Family Practice Guidelines (6th ed.). New York: Springer.

Pesta Walsh, N. (2022). Gynecological Guidelines. In J Cash & Glass (Eds). Family Practice Guidelines. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

Cash, J. & Pesta Walsh, N. (2022). Eye Guidelines. In J Cash & Glass (Eds). Family Practice Guidelines. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

Pesta Walsh, N. (2017). Female Sexual Dysfunction, Gynecological Guidelines. In J Cash & Glass (Eds). Family Practice Guidelines. (pp. 442-445) New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

Komorowski, J., Baker, V. (2022). The certified nurse-midwife in advanced nursing practice, (3rd ed.). In Goudreau, K.A., and Smolenski, M.C. (eds.), Health Policy and Advanced Practice Nursing: Impact and Implications. Springer Publishing Company: New York, NY.

Cave, A.C (2023) Gastrointestinal Guidelines in Family Practice Guidelines, 6e, edited by Jill C. Cash. Springer Publishing Company

Cave, A.C (2023) Respiratory Guidelines in Adult-Gerontology Practice Guidelines,

Associate Professor Tia Andrighetti, DNP, CNM, CHSE, CNE

Associate Professor Megan Arbour, Ph.D., CNM, CNE, FACNM

Alumnus Kimberly Broughton-Miller, DNP, FNP-C, ENP-C, FAANP

Assistant Professor Audra Cave, DNP, FNP-BC

Assistant Professor Jana Esden, DNP, APNP, FNP-BC

Course Faculty Lucinda Farina, PhD, APRN

Assistant Professor Charlotte Morris, DNP, MSN, MS, CNM, FACNM

Course Coordinator Stacie Olson, DNP, MSPNP, BSN

Assistant Professor Nancy Pesta Walsh, DNP, FNP

Alumnus Susan Stapleton, CNM, DNP, FACNM Associate Professor Charlotte Swint, DNP, MPH, FNP-BC, CNE, PhD, APRN, CNM, FACNM

Assistant Professor Tanya Tanner, Ph.D., MBA, APRN, CNM, PMHNP-BC, FACNM

3e, edited by Jill C. Cash. Springer Publishing Company.

Cave, A.C (2023) Respiratory Guidelines in Family Practice Guidelines, 6e, edited by Jill C. Cash. Springer Publishing Company.

Caruso, C. C., Arbour, M. W., Berger, A. M., Hittle, B. M., Tucker, S., Patrician, P. A., & Chasens, E. R. (2022). Research priorities to reduce risks from work hours and fatigue in the healthcare and social assistance sector. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. https://doi.org/10. 1002/ajim.23363

Improving acute pain management of trauma patients on medication-assisted therapy Kimberly D. Broughton-Miller, DNP, FNP-C, ENP-C (Graduate Student) & Grace Ellen Urquhart, DNP, FNPBC (Assistant Professor of Nursing). Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners 00 (2022) 1–8, © 2022 American Association of Nurse Practitioners DOI# 10.1097/JXX.0000000000000730

Faculty Presentations

Swint, C. & Thrower, E. J. B. (2022, July 2125). Cultural and health equity: Midwifery in the Southeastern United States in the early 20th century. [Conference session].

Sigma’s 33rd International Nursing Research Congress. Edinburgh, Scotland.

Esden, J. L. (2022, April). Diagnosis and treatment of community-acquired pneumonia. Presented at the National Conference for Nurse Practitioners Spring 2022 Conference, [Virtual].

Tanner, T. & Olson, S. (April 27th, 2022). Sometimes the bough breaks and the cradle falls: Psychiatric disorders during pregnancy and postpartum. Podium presentation presented at KY Coalition Conference, Covington, KY.

Tseng, T. & Olson, S. (April 27th, 2022). Emotional, Erratic, Dramatic, and Odd; Identifying Personality Disorder Diagnoses and Approaches. Podium presentation presented at KY Coalition Conference, Covington, KY.

Swint, C. & Halcomb, K. (2022, July 1315). Creation of a virtual simulation course to improve advanced practice nursing critical thinking and clinical judgment and student impressions of the course. [Conference session]. 2022 Nursing Education Accreditation Conference. Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Atlanta, GA

Faucett, K. (2022, May 20-21). Boards Boot Camp: an AMCB Certification Exam Preparation Workshop. [2-day Workshop. Podium]. American Colledge of NurseMidwives annual meeting, Chicago, IL.

Faucett, K. (2022, May 20-21). TestTaking Tips for the AMCB certification exam. [Podium Presentation]. American Colledge of NurseMidwives annual meeting, Chicago, IL.

Farina, L. & Andrighetti T. (September, 2022). Shoulder dystocia readiness through high-fidelity simulation. Laerdal Simulation Users Network. Houston, Texas. Podium presentation.

Faucher, M.A., George, E. Jolles, D. Telfer, M, Yount-Tavener, S. (2022). Exercise and clinical outcomes within the AABC Perinatal Data Registry 2007-2020. American Association of Birth Centers, Birth Institute, September 15-17th, San Diego, California.

Ross, L., Jolles, D., Hoehn-Velasco, L., Wright, J., Bauer, K., Stapleton, S. (2022). Salary and Workload of Midwives Across Birth Center Practice Types and State Regulatory Structures. Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health, 67(2),244-250. Https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.133331

Assistant Professor Kendra Faucett, DNP, CNM, APRN, CNE

Instructor Kathleen Halcomb, MSN, EdD, FNP-BC

Clinical Faculty Diana Jolles, Ph.D., CNM, FACNM

Alumnus Kimberly JonesBeatty, DNP, CNM Associate Professor Janelle Komorowski, DNP, ARNP, CNM

Alumnus Ebony Marcelle, CNM, MS, FACNM

Dept. Chair for the Dept. of Midwifery & Women’s Health Eileen Thrower, PhD, APRN, CNM, CNE, FACNM

Assistant Professor Grace Urquhart, DNP, FNP-BC

Course Coordinator Penny Wortman, DNP, CNM

Danielle Blackwell’s Award-Winning Essay to Be Published

Danielle Blackwell, MSN, WHCNP (Class 196), who graduated from FNU in June of this year, was recently named a student winner of the Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest for her essay, “She Served Him Well”.

The Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest prompts medical and nursing students to engage in a reflective writing exercise that illustrates an experience in which they or a team member worked to ensure humanistic care.

The winning essays are chosen by an expert panel that includes healthcare professionals, writers/journalists, and educators. The judges selected the winners from over 400 entries from more than 40 nursing schools and over 120 medical schools.

The winning essays will be published in two esteemed journals, Academic Medicine, in the October, November, and December issues, and Journal of Professional Nursing, in the September/October, November/ December, and January/February issues. Academic Medicine is published by the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Journal of Professional Nursing is published by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Maureen English-Cremeans

Published in Journal of Geriatric Nursing

Maureen K. English-Cremeans, MSN, FNP (Class 178), was recently published in the digital version of the Journal of Geriatric Nursing. Her article, “Decision making in frail patients at risk of postoperative delirium: A case study and literature review,” will also be published in the November/ December printed version of the Journal of Geriatric Nursing

Maureen K. English-Cremeans, Dorothy J. Wholihan, Ellen Olson, Carolyn Zhu, Fred C. Ko, Decision making in frail patients at risk of postoperative delirium: A case study and literature review, Geriatric Nursing, 2022, ISSN 01974572, https://doi.org/10.1016/j. gerinurse.2022.05.009.

Judith Butler and Julie Knutson Published in Nursing for Women’s Health

An article by FNU graduate Julie Knutson, DNP (Class 37), CNM, WHNP, IBCLC, and FNU assistant professor Judith Butler, DNP, CNM, WHNP, CNE, was featured on the cover of the June issue of Nursing for Women’s Health, the clinical journal of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Dr. Knutson is a teaching associate at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Knutson J, Butler J. Providing Equitable Postpartum Breastfeeding Support at an Urban Academic Hospital. Nurs Women’s Health. 2022 Jun;26(3):184-193. doi: 10.1016/j.nwh.2022.03.002. Epub 2022 Apr 8. PMID: 35398044.

Judith Butler, DNP, CNM, WHNP, CNE

Julie Knutson, DNP, CNM, WHNP, IBCLC

Brie Abbe Joins Mendocino Community Health

Brie Abbe, MSN, CNM (Class 181), has joined Mendocino Community Health Clinic’s (MCHC) Care for Her program in Ukiah, California, Abbe previously worked as an RN on the mother/baby unit at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. She also worked for the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action in Malaysia in 2007. MCHC’s Care for Her program offers obstetrics and gynecological services for women in all stages of life.

Drew Hayes Joins Essentia HealthVirginia Clinic

Drew Hayes. MSN, FNP (Class 185), recently joined Essentia Health-Virginia, in Virginia, Minnesota. Hayes specializes in cardiology with a particular focus on the clinic’s heart failure program.

CentraCare Becker Clinic Welcomes Bridget Johnson

CentraCare’s Becker Clinic in Becker, Minnesota, recently added family medicine nurse practitioner Bridget Johnson, MSN, FNP (Bridge 165), to its team of providers. Johnson’s primary clinical interest is in women’s health.

JoAnn Eastman Joins Island Wellness Care

JoAnn Eastman, DNP (Class 32), FNP-BC, recently joined Island Sleep Wellness Center in Anacortes, Washington. Eastman, who earned her DNP from FNU, previously worked as a family nurse practitioner at Island Primary Care, also in Anacortes.

Jennifer Jacobson Joins Essentia Health-Virginia’s General Surgery Team

Jennifer Jacobson, FNP (Class 164), MSN, recently joined the general surgery team at Essentia Health-Virginia, in Virginia, Minnesota. She spent the previous five years working as a registered nurse for Essentia.

Shana Johnson Catches Her 1,000th Baby

Shana Johnson, ARNP, FNP-C (Class 182), CNM, delivered her 1,000th baby this spring at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland, Washington. Johnson has worked in EvergreenHealth’s midwifery care unit since 2012 as a certified nurse-midwife and advanced registered nurse practitioner.

Northern Light Mayo Clinic Welcomes Rachel Koransky-Matson

Northern Light Mayo Hospital in DoverFoxcroft, Maine, recently welcomed Rachel Koransky-Matson, DNP, (Companion DNP Class 4), FNP-C to its provider team. Koransky-Matson specializes in diabetes education and counseling. She works with patients on their nutrition, exercise, medication use, and behavioral needs and sees patients both in-person and via telehealth.

Jamie Neal Opens Life Tree Women Care

This spring, Jamie Neal, CNM (Class 164), MSN, opened Life Tree Women Care in Jacksonville, Florida. Her husband Derek is the CEO. As a black-owned and operated business, Life Tree Women Care’s stated mission is “Providing Culturally Competent Quality Healthcare to all.”

University of Maryland Shore Medical Group - Women’s Health Welcomes Angie Price

Angie Price, DNP (Class 38), WHNPBC, RNC-OB/C-EFM, recently joined the University of Maryland Shore Medical Group – Women’s Health as a nurse practitioner.

Canandaigua Medical Group Welcomes Bridget Lagro

In May, Bridget Lagro, CNM (Class 179), MSN, joined the Thompson Health Canandaigua Medical Group in Canandaigua, New York. Previously, she worked as a registered nurse in neonatal intensive care units in Madison, Wisconsin.

Hillary Sylvester Joins Gifford Health Care

Hillary Sylvester, MSN, RN, CNM (Class 186), recently joined the midwifery team at Gifford Health Care in Randolph, Vermont. Sylvester, who is also a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, worked at the Northwestern Medical Family Birthing Center before coming to Gifford.

Munising Memorial Hospital in Munising, Michigan, recently welcomed Dana Vix, MSN, FNP (Bridge 165). In addition to her role as a nurse practitioner, Vix also served as a speaker at the hospital’s first annual Women’s Health Fair in May.

“The recommendations of women’s screenings are changing often, and I want to be sure our community is staying up to date,” Vix said. “Women face diverse and unique health challenges across their lifespan which may affect their overall health and wellness.”

The Frontier Nursing University Office of Alumni Relations is here to support YOU! Our purpose is to offer helpful programs and services that support our graduates. Alumni are an integral part of FNU’s development because you demonstrate the excellence of FNU in everyday practice. You are also our primary recruiters and most loyal donors. We deeply appreciate your commitment to FNU.

Stay in the Know

We know you want to stay informed about all that is happening at FNU. To make sure you don’t miss communications such as the Quarterly Bulletin or our monthly e-newsletters, please take a moment to make sure we have your updated contact information. Please send your updated contact information, including your preferred email address, phone number, and mailing address, to alumniservices@frontier.edu. Thank you!

The Alumni Association is open to all graduates of FNU. We currently have more than 8,000 alumni in all 50 states and many countries around the world. We encourage you to explore the services, programs, and activities offered and become involved. There are several ways to stay in touch with friends and connect to FNU including conference receptions; case days; e-newsletters; and the FNU Alumni Facebook Group. To take advantage of all member services, please make sure we have your most recent contact information. Email us at alumniservices@ frontier.edu.

Munising Memorial Hospital Welcomes Dana Vix

Trustees Board of Directors

Mrs. Tia Andrew, Hamilton Parish, Bermuda Ms. Sarah Bacon, Brooklyn, NY Mrs. Andrea Begley, Hyden, KY Dr. Heather Bernard, Hamilton, NY Gov. Steven Beshear, Lexington, KY Mrs. Betty Brown, Louisville, KY Mrs. Amy Pennington Brudnicki, Richmond, KY Dr. Timothy Bukowski, Chapel Hill, NC Dr. Wallace Campbell, Berea, KY Miss Anna Carey, Hyden, KY Mrs. Jean Chapin, Oldwick, NJ Mrs. Lois Cheston, Topsfield, MA Mrs. Julia Breckinridge Davis, Winston-Salem, NC Mrs. John Dete, West Liberty, OH Mrs. Selby Ehrlich, Bedford, NY Mrs. Robert Estill, Raleigh, NC Mrs. Noel Smith Fernandez, Pomona, NY

Ms. Mary Ann Gill, Versailles, KY Dr. Joyce Fortney Hamberg, Southgate, KY Dr. Horace Henriques, Lyme, NH Mr. & Mrs. John Hodge, Berwyn, PA Mrs. Robin Frentz Isaacs, Lincoln, MA Mrs. Rosemary Johnson, Versailles, KY Mrs. Mary Carol Joseph, Hyden, KY Ms. Deborah M. King, Westport, MA Mrs. Patricia Lawrence, Westwood, MA Mrs. Marian Leibold, Cincinnati, OH Dr. Ruth Lubic, Washington, DC Mr. William Lubic, Washington DC Mr. Robert Montague, JD, Urbanna, VA Mr. Wade Mountz, Louisville, KY

Dr. Judy Myers, Ph.D., RN, New Albany, IN Ms. Barbara Napier, Irvine, KY Ms. Sandra Napier, Stinnett, KY Mr. Dean Osborne, Hyden, KY Mrs. Helen Rentch, Midway, KY Mrs. John Richardson, Washington, DC Mrs. Linda Roach, Lexington, KY Mrs. Georgia Rodes, Lexington, KY Mrs. Sandra Schreiber, Louisville, KY Maria Small, MD, MPH, Durham, NC Mrs. Sherrie Rice Smith, Franklin, WI Mrs. Austin Smithers, Lyme, NH Mrs. Robert Steck, Arlington, MA Mrs. Mary Clay Stites, Louisville, KY Mr. Richard Sturgill, Paris, KY Ms. Mary Frazier Vaughan, Lexington, KY Mrs. LouAnne Roberts Verrier, Austin, TX Dr. Patience White, Bethesda, MD Mr. Harvie Wilkinson, Lexington, KY Ms. Vaughda Wooten, Hyden, KY

CHAIR

Michael Carter, DNSc, DNP

New Orleans, LA

VICE CHAIR

Michael T. Rust Louisville, KY

SECRETARY

Wallace Campbell, Ph.D. Berea, KY

TREASURER

Emma Metcalf, RN, MSN, CPHQ Louisville, KY

Board Members

Carlyle Carter, Evanston, IL William (Bill) Corley, MHA, Carmel, IN Nancy Hines, Shepherdsville, KY Jean Johnson, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Cabin John, MD Marcus Osborne, MBA, Bentonville, AR Kerri Schuiling, Ph.D., CNM, FAAN, FACNM, Marquette, MI Peter Schwartz, MD, Port St. Lucie, FL Maria Small, MD, MPH, Durham, NC Nancy Fugate Woods, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Seattle, WA May Wykle, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, FGSA, Cleveland, OH

Foundation Board Members

Peter Coffin, Chair, Frontier Nursing Service, Inc Foundation, Chestnut Hill, MA Derek Bonifer, Louisville, KY

Constance Brotherton, Lexington, KY Peter Schwartz, MD, Port St. Lucie, FL

Board Members Emeritus

John Foley, Lexington, KY

Marion McCartney, CNM, FACNM, Washington, DC Kenneth J. Tuggle, JD, Louisville, KY

Frontier Nursing University

Special Knit Items Needed!

Homemade blankets and scarves continue to be very needed for our FNU Students. Frontier nurse-midwifery students present a baby cap to the family of a baby whose birth they attend, and our nurse practitioner students present lap quilts or scarves to their patients. We have plenty of baby caps at this time but desperately need more blankets and scarves. The size needed for lap quilts is approximately 40 by 42 inches.

We greatly appreciate the many knitting groups and friends who send items to us. These items circle the globe as our students pass them on to women and families and share the story of the Frontier Nursing Service. It’s such a special way to pass on the vision and mission of Frontier.

Please send your donated items to:

Frontier Nursing University

Attn: Dr. Joan Slager, Dean of Nursing

2050 Lexington Road Versailles, KY 40383

Listen to the FNU

Memorial Donations

The following people made contributions to Frontier in memory of their friends or loved ones. The names in bold are the deceased.

Harriette Sherman Barnes

Ms. Mary Ann Barnes

Kitty Ernst

Dr. Tanya Denise Baca

Ms. Georgia Rose Blair

Dr. Katherine A. Carr

Ms. Connie Coker

Ms. Zoe Augusta Due

Ms. Evalyn Elias

Ms. Cindy Farina

Mrs. Gaye S. Ficarrotta

Ms. Ann A. Geisler

Mr. and Ms. Richard & Abby Geyer

Ms. Jamie Harrington

Ms. Cheryl A. Hinojosa

Ms. Heidi M Loomis

Mrs. Mairi Breen Rothman

Seven episodes

FNU

Ms. Kelly Rudis Bobbi Silver

Ms. Cecilia Ann Stearns

Dr. Susan Stone

Dr. Autumn J. Versace

Mrs. Lees D. Yunits

Dr. & Ms. Edward and Candace Kugel Zuroweste

Nancy Sue Littrell Esther Breeding

Celia and Robert Oseasohn

Ms. Nancy M. Oseasohn

Jan Weingrad Smith Joann Labare

Mr. and Mrs. Pat and Maryellen McGrath

Stu and Joan Madison

The Stickney Family Charitable Trust