Frontier Nursing gives campus to Leslie County, eyes completion of Versailles site

HYDEN, Ky. (WTVQ)  – As work continues on its new center in Versailles, historic Frontier Nursing University is donating its campus in Hyden, Kentucky, to Leslie County.

The gift includes all land and buildings, a value of which is nearly $2 million. The property, which has been home to FNU since its founding as the Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery in 1939, has been accepted by the county, which already is discussing ideas for how to use the property for the good of the community.

The campus, complete with historic old buildings sits on a hill overlooking Hyden and the 25-bed Mary Breckinridge ARH Hospital where many Frontier nurses get their early start.

.Much like the ARH system, Mary Breckinridge Hospital has a colorful history that has shaped medical care in Eastern Kentucky. The hospital was originally opened by midwife Mary Breckinridge who founded the Frontier Nursing Service in Leslie County to provide healthcare for mothers and babies in remote rural areas.

The decision to make the goodwill offer was made by the FNU Board of Directors at its meeting on July 22.

“We are proud of our roots in Leslie County, and it will always be our treasured birthplace,” FNU President Dr. Susan Stone said. “This gratitude and respect for our birthplace led the Frontier Nursing University Board of Directors to make the decision at our July Board Meeting to honor Mary Breckinridge and the history of our institution by offering the Hyden, Kentucky, campus to Leslie County as a gift of goodwill. The county officials have graciously accepted this gift on behalf of the people of Leslie County, and we are confident that they will do wonderful things to support the community with the property.”

FNU is finalizing construction on its new campus in Versailles, Kentucky. The land, which was purchased in 2017, was the former home of The United Methodist Children’s Home.

The new 67-acre campus maintains FNU’s presence in a rural county while providing more space to serve FNU’s more than 2,300 students.

The mission of FNU is to provide accessible nurse-midwifery and nurse practitioner education to prepare competent, entrepreneurial, ethical, and compassionate leaders in primary care to serve all individuals with an emphasis on women and families in diverse, rural, and underserved populations.