Contact: Brittney Edwards, Director of Marketing and Communications

859.899-2515, brittney.edwards@frontier.edu

www.frontier.edu

For Immediate Release

March 14, 2016

Frontier Nursing University to Expand Facilities in Kentucky

New location to support growth in student enrollment and programming

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Frontier Nursing University (FNU) announced today that it will expand the school’s Kentucky-based facilities in 2017, through the purchase of a new property that currently belongs to the Kentucky United Methodist Homes for Children & Youth (KyUMH). FNU has entered into an agreement to purchase the facility, located at 2050 Lexington Road in nearby Versailles, in response to growth in student enrollment and programming. The university has a long-standing mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners.

Frontier Nursing University students travel to Kentucky from across the U.S. to attend orientations and education sessions in preparation for online coursework and clinical experience. The growth in enrollment over the last decade from 200 to more than 1600 students has prompted this new development. FNU currently admits approximately 800 new students each year and in 2015 graduated 565 nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners. FNU’s current operations include the historic campus in Hyden, Ky., the Wendover Bed & Breakfast Inn, a retreat center and national historic landmark, and two administrative office locations in Lexington.

The first administrative office opened in Lexington in 1996 and currently employs 44 faculty and staff. “We are expanding our Central Kentucky operations by moving our administrative office to Versailles where we will develop additional capacity to serve students. We could not have asked for a better location for continuing our mission than the rural site of the KyUMH, a not-for-profit, mission-based organization like ours. Frontier Nursing University will leverage this property in new ways, but with the same focus on improving health and wellness for families in Kentucky and beyond,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone.   

Reverend Randy Coy, President/CEO of KyUMH stated, “We couldn’t be happier about the contract between KyUMH and FNU. The property will stay intact and the entire community will benefit from their excellent educational services.”

With nearly eight decades of providing graduate education for registered nurses to become certified nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners, Frontier Nursing University has a long-standing mission of educating nurses to serve families in rural and underserved communities in Kentucky and across the nation.

FNU offers distance education programs with master of science in nursing (MSN) and doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree options. This distance education model allows students from all 50 states as well as other countries to remain in their home communities to complete their graduate education.  

Over the upcoming year, FNU will be working with site planners in collaboration with our stakeholders on design and renovations. The University’s leadership and Board of Directors will be working on strategic plans for how to most effectively use the new space.

Frontier Nursing University is a Top 30 online graduate school of nursing and offers the #1 Nurse-Midwifery program in the United States, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

Photo Information

Pictured L to R: FNU Chief Operations Officer Shelley Aldridge, FNU Dean of Nursing Julie Marfell, KyUMH President/CEO Reverend Randy Coy, FNU President Susan Stone and FNU VP Finance Michael Steinmetz sign an agreement on the purchase of the KyUMH Versailles Campus.

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About Frontier Nursing University:

For more than 75 years, Frontier Nursing University, with its heart in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, has educated nursing and midwifery leaders who have touched the lives of children and families across the nation and around the globe. Our master’s and doctoral programs educate nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners in the primary care of women and families with an emphasis on rural and underserved populations. By utilizing distance-learning methods, FNU makes graduate-level education accessible to nurses in all areas, and ultimately fosters access to quality healthcare by graduating advanced-practice nurses and midwives to work in underserved communities. FNU offers the #1 Nurse-Midwifery program in the United States, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Learn more: www.Frontier.edu.

About The Kentucky United Methodist Homes for Children & Youth:

For 145 years, The Kentucky United Methodist Homes for Children & Youth has served young people—originally as an orphanage and now offering care to children with histories of abuse, neglect and/or family trauma. Our programs are both residential and community-based. For more information visit kyumh.org.