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US ISSN 0016-2116 *3
Table of Contents  
Kate Ireland Retires as Chairman - Barb Gibson 1  
Notes from the School - Judith Treistman 3 1
Dr. Ruth Watson Lubic Honored - Barb Gibson 5 In  
Nurse Practitioner of the Year - Barb Gibson 6  
Employees of our Organization - Barb Gibson 7  
Patient Transport-Yesterday and Today - Betty Powell 9  
My Experience as a Courier - Todd Russell - Amy Behrens 16  
A "Professional Swimming" Midwife — Barb Gibson 20  
Courier News - Carol Carey Leblique 21 ii
Dr. Horace Henriques III - Barb Gibson 22  
National Commission-Honorary Chairman- Barb Gibson 23  
Fonner Staff News - Barb Gibson 23 .
Local Spotlight — Barb Gibson 24
Sayings of the Children — Deanna Severance 25 ,
Field Notes — Susie H udgins 26 I
Beyond the Mountains - Deanna Severance 27 fi
li
Meet Barb Gibson - Deanna Severance 31  
In Memoriam; In Honor Of - Barb Gibson _ 33  
yi
Sixty-Seven Year Totals - Barb Gibson 38 li
Urgent Needs - Barb Gibson Inside back cover  
COVER: Kate Ireland, Ccurler 1951, June 1992 - Jane Leigh Powell, Courier 1955, June 1992 A4 
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FRONTIER NURSING SERVICE QUARTERLY BULLETIN " ill
US ISSN 0016-2116 ig?
Published at the end of each quarter by the Frontier Nursing Service, Inc. ~ I
Wendover, Kentucky 41775 il
Subscription Price $5.00 a Year  
Editor's Oflice, Wendover, Kentucky 41775 ii
VOLUME 67 NUMBER 4 Spring 1992  
Second-class postage paid at Wendover, KY 41775 and at additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes Io Frontier Nursing Service, Wendover, KY 41775. J
Copyright 1986, Frontier Nursing Service, Inc. `I

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    QUARTERLY BULLETIN 1
,l  Kate Ireland Retires as National
 » Chairman of the Frontier Nursing Service
 
  Kate Ireland has been associated with the Frontier Nursing
it  Service since 1951 when she first came as a Courier. She returned several
{ times between 1951 and 1961, and became the Director of the Courier
lvl Program from 1961 to 1975. She was elected as a member of the FNS
  Board of Govemors in 1963, Vice-Chairman in 1968, and Chairman in
{fz 1975.
  During the April 10th and 11th Board meetings at Wendover,
  Kate announced her retirement as Chairman of the FNS Board of
  L  Governors. Kate has also retired from several other boards on which she
S 1, has served for many years, e. g. , Chairman ofthe Berea College Board and
i   the Cincinnati branch of the Federal Reserve, fourth district. She will
i i, remain as a member of all the FNS corporate boards and will continue as
  Y Chairman of the Frontier Nursing Service Foundation Board.
iii Kate says she first talked about retiring and moving south to
gl  Florida in 1989. However, at that time FNS had decided to restructure
  { and incorporate the subsidiaries. The Board asked her to stay and assist
. . the newly appointed Director and CEO, Deanna Severance, in meeting
  the challenges of the organization. Kate has sold her home at Wendover
i X to a local attorney and plans to sell her plane since she won’t be needing
  it for travel to meetings as much.
Q? Kate says, "The Frontier Nursing Service could not be viable
  today if it wasn’t for our many friends all over the United States and other
  countries who support our programs, not just to run a hospital but to run
   ‘ this unique health system founded by Mary Breckinridge in 1925." Last
i t summer we had visitors from Mongolia, Kenya and Columbia, and
 it  throughout the year we’ve had visitors from several other countries who
,;   came just to observe our methods. Some people feel they should only
 Y  support the hospitals in their own home towns but because of our
  Midwifery and Family Nursing Program we have their support.
1, . To show our deep appreciation for all Kate has done for the
  Frontier Nursing Service and the people we serve, a huge reception is
 [ji; being planned during the weekend of the September Board Meeting at
 _ 1 our local recreation center. At the reception, Miss Jane Leigh Powell will
A] be recognized and welcomed as the newly elected Chairman of the
  Frontier Nursing Service Board of Governors.
 1 

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2 FRONTIER NURSING SERVICE  
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Leigh P0well and Kate Ireland at the Big H 0use
Leigh Powell l
At the Annual Board Meeting this year Miss Jane Leigh Powell K
was elected Chairman of Frontier Nursing Service Board of Governors. I
Leigh has been associated with FNS since 1954 when she was a Courier. I
She has been a Board member since the 70’s and has served as Vice-  
Chairman of the FNS Board for the last three years. She is also the Vice 5
President of the Matemity Center Association in New York City and is Q
on the Board of the National Association of Childbearing Centers. She is  
currently President of her family corporation in South Carolina. li
Leigh was bom in England and has lived on Long Island, in New §
York, for many years. Leigh says, "l have tremendous faith and respect E
for FNS, and it still serves as a model of health care to the U.S. and the t
world." Leigh is looking forward to serving FNS as Chairman of the ·
Board in the best interest of our organization, and we are looking forward
to working with her!
Kate Ireland and Leigh Powell have both given many years of
service to the Frontier Nursing Service. We want them to know we deeply
appreciate their dedication. I
-Barb Gibson ,

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I QUARTERLY BULLETIN 3
I
! Notes From the School
5 Frontier School Facts:
` We’ve had many calls from Alumnae and others who want to know about
I our current program. These are some of the most common questions we
`T get. I thought if everybody else wants to know, you too would like this
[ information.
. Did the School close?
i We did not close. Our program has gone through a few changes over the
E years, but that’s because we’re growing so rapidly. The school never
i plans to close. The role of educating nurse-midwives is too important.
i Where once we had 8-l2 students in a class, we now have ISO! The
  difference is CNEP. The Community-B ased Nurse—Midwifery Education
  Program is a "first" of its kind program for health/medical education.
  CNEP is me example and leading the way for other programs.
What is CNEP?
; CNEP is anew concept in nurse-midwifery education. Fourintemationally
t respected organizations in education and matemal-child health service
I responded to the challenge of providing nurse-midwifery care for women
in an environment of diminishing access and availability. FNS, Frances
Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Westem Reserve University,
Maternity Center Association, and the National Association of
Childbearing Centers created CNEP. The first 22 students graduated in
October, 1991. Students live in almost every state and bring a rich
° background of experience to the program.
Is this a Correspondence School?
 ° No, no, no.
How does CNEP work?
I The best way to describe this program is a "college without walls."
CNEP is a self-paced program that allows students to remain in their
T home community. Students follow a modular course of study, closely
2 monitored and evaluated by regional coordinators and faculty. Students
also do clinical work that allows a hands-on approach, much like an
_ apprenticeship. This clinical training is also done in the community

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i 4 FRONT IER NURSING SERVICE
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under the guidance of well-qualified CNM’s. These preceptors are
sought out by the CNEP student herself and then become a part of the }
Frontier School clinical faculty. ,
How can Students learn outside of a classroom?
Really, CNEP isn’t all that different from the former program. Students
just don’t have to move. They still must study the required course-work, 7
° do graded assignments, take tests, mid-terms and finals. They still do  
_ highly supervised clinicals and are required to take the ACNM Boards to
be certified.
3 Why did you change?
  CNEP was brought about to meet the need for more nurse-midwives.
3 Students keep family stress to a minimum by helping them meet their l
  family obligations while training. CNEP allows students to serve their {
2 community. This solves the problem of training and keeping qualified  
1 nurse—midwives in rural areas and other areas where access to care is  
  limited. If students are educated in their community, there is less t
3 likelihood of them moving. CNEP is also more cost-effective for the ,
i students because they don’t have to move for two years. Many students  
1 find financial support from their community and local hospitals. They i
j can work, eam much-needed income, and go to school at the same time.
  Some employers help pay for their education and many have State or  
i Federal Scholarships. A  _
I
i Why did you move to New Mexico? I
1 Only three faculty went to New Mexico and the move was for one year ,
{ only. The move to the University of New Mexico was for two main t
[ reasons. We set up a pilot program so the U.N.M. could have a nurse-
{ midwifery program of its own. It already had a masters FNP program, +-
i butwanted to expand into nurse-midwifery. FNS successfully "guided" l
] the development of this program for U.N.M. Secondly, there was not
l enough clinical base in Hyden to train large numbers of students. It
p became too expensive to move all the students elsewhere to get their
  clinical training. New Mexico was rural and had a greater need than other —
  sites we considered, making it an ideal situation. FSMFN is still the
  oldest nurse-midwifery school in continual operation in the U.S.
  - Judith Treistman  
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 i QUARTERLY BULLETIN 5
2 Dr. Ruth Watson Lubic Honored
  On Saturday, March 7th, the Alumni Council of Teachers College of
" Columbia University sponsored the College‘s first Academic
Homecoming. A high point of this special day was the presentation of
1992 Distinguished Alumni Awards to six outstanding alumni of Teacher's
fr College. One of the awardees was Dr. Ruth Watson Lubic. Dr. Lubic is
  the General Director of Maternity Center Association in New York. She
} received her midwifery training at MCA—SUNY Downstate Medical
· Center and has had a career as a Nurse·Midwife, Childbirth Educator,
i and Parent Advocate for over 30 years. She has served on many public
I boards and private committees and commissions.
{
{ - Barb Gibson
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Correction
  In the Winter '92 Quarterly Bulletin article "Appalachian Health
Care" Candles in the Darkness I repeated a story in which I told about
Mrs. Breckinridge's son, Breckie, telling the foreman he was a bird and
  could ily. I had a nice letter calling to my attention the fact that Breckie
 ~ was in fact talking to his cousin, Brooke Alexander, who was visiting
_ with Mrs. Breckinrid ge and Breckie. I am sure Mr. Alexander has some
very interesting memories of his time spent with them.
I
- Deanna Severance

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  6 FRONTIER NURSING SERVICE
I Nurse Practitioner of the Year - Kathie Cook
I
I
I The first week of November I
I was proclaimed "Nurse Practitioner .v,§§ ’~
I Week" by the Govemor. In connection I T; I.  
  with this, each year the American  
  Academy of Nurse Practitioners ¢
* approve the selection of a "Nurse
I Practitioner of the Year" in each state. _. O
I Selections are based on excellence of ,_ . ia.   _
I clinical practice and community in- ,. ,_   ‘ ‘t at t
I volvement. Nominations are made by I 2
  the Practitioner’s patients and peers,   `·
I then the final decision is made by a Kathie Cook
I panel of Nurse Practitioners from
  around the state. Kathie Cook, FNP, was named the 1991 "Nurse
If Practitioner of the Year" in Kentucky. S he works in the Hyden Clinic and I
I ER at the Mary Breckinridge Hospital. Kathy will be recognized at the I
‘] American Academy of Nurse Practitioners National Conference to be I
I1 held in Washington, DC June llth - 14th.
I Kathie was born in Worcester, MA. She did her training at the
I Fall River Diploma School of Nursing, Fall River, MA, and her Family
I Nurse Practitioner training at the East Carolina University, Greenville,
I NC. S he is currently the medical director of our local hi gh school football  .
  and basketball teams. She is a Kentucky Colonel, a member of the Lions  I
I Club, (in 1990 she was the Lions Club "Woman ofthe Year"), a chartered . 
  member of the Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Kentucky .
I Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse—Midwives.
I When Kathie first came to Mary Breckinrid ge Hospital, she was
1 seeking a job as a FNP in a rural area where people needed quality health I
  care and every day the provider made a difference. She says, "I have =
I worked here since July 1988 and have remained at FNS because of the
I people. I love my patients, they have accepted me and take just as much i
t care of me as I do them. FNS is alive and well, I plan on staying here for
I a long time. We have a very talented, dedicated administrative team who
is helping us grow and adapt to the changes in today’s ever changing ~
E health care." ·
t Kathie lives at Hurricane Creek, Wendover, KY and enjoys -
horseback riding, cross stitching and sports in her spare time.
- Barb Gibson

 QUARTERLY BULLETIN 7
Employees of our Organization
Juanetta and J.G. Morgan have dedicated many years of
if their lives to Frontier Nursing Service.
  Juanetta originally starting working for FNS in 1951. She
  was the secretary to Agnes Lewis (Executive Secretary) and Miss
Helen Browne (Director). In 1955 she resigned and married J.G.
Juanetta says, "when I rirst met J .G. he was sitting on top of the
paddock fence at Wendover watching the girls. Back then that's
where the boys came to "catch" the girls."
_ J uanetta came back to work in 1962 forMrs. Breckinrid ge,
typing her great—grandfather’s diary for possible publication. He
was the Vice—President to President Buchanan. After that, Juanetta
held several different positions including Executive Secretary
succeeding Agnes Lewis who retired in 1967, Transcriptiorrist at
the Wooton Clinic when it first opened, Payroll Clerk, Business
Office Supervisor and is currently the Administrative Assistant in
the Maintenance Department at Mary Breckinridge Healthcare.
Juanetta remembers that she came to FNS the same year
Kate Ireland did. Juanetta said she has cherished the memories she
~ had with Mrs. Breckinridge. She says, "Mrs. Breckinridge
 _ commanded respect from everyone; she was firm but very kind."
` Juanetta was bom at Morehead, KY. She first heard of
  FNS through an ad in the newspaper advertising for a secretarial
 · position. She applied and was accepted.
J.G., on the other hand, was bom and raised on Camp
` Creek of Wendover. His grandparents lived in a cabin located near
the Big House. J ahu gh was the maintenance person and Belle was
the cook/gardener. They both retired from FNS. J.G. recalls
L spending much time with his grandparents and became well
acquainted with Mrs. Breckinridge. She visited with Jahugh and
_ Belle often and J.G. said, "Mrs. Breckinridge was one of the most
V respected women in the United States."
J.G. began work at FNS in 1968 in the Maintenance
p Department at Wendover. For a period of time he worked at Mary
. Breckimid ge Hospital but retumed to Wendover as the crew chief

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i 8 FRONTIER NURSING SERVICE
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i J uanetta and ,I.G. Morgan
1 of maintenance; He does beautiful wood working and with the
  assistance of Junior Phipps, does all the remodeling at
  Wendover.
  J.G. recalls that many years ago, he and a friend asked _—
  permission from Mrs. Breckinnd ge to have a square dance in the
  basement of the Garden House since so many of the employees
§ were young and most of them lived at Wendover. Mrs. I
I Breckinridge gave her consent and the square dances continued _
I most Saturday nights for the next three years.  I
I J.G. and Iuanetta both say, "we enjoy the people at FNS I
  and love working with the organization." Iuanetta says, "in the “
I early days I leamed so much by just sitting and listening to  
  visitors from all over the world who came to visit FNS to leam `
  about this unique organization first-hand." J.G. says, "I told Miss —
Browne in 1968 thatl was going to retire from FNS, and I still I ‘
plan to do just that!"
j - Barb Gibson
I
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I

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E QUARTERLY BULLETIN 9
I
  Patient Transport - Yesterday and Today
  Recently I had the privilege of meeting Betty Powell, admitting mar1ager,and
I the Skycare Team from Jewish Hospital in Louisville during their trip to Hyden
‘i to show off their new air ambulance. I found this article in an old Bulletin to
use as an introduction to Betty's story. Patient-transport has improved
tremendously over the last several years! - Barb Gibson
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f Patient transport in the early days
. (Reprint from the Spring 1935 Bulletin) March 17, 1935
2 This has been a funny week. I think I told you Miss Harris and
I were so busy that another nurse, Miss MacDonald, had come to help us.
‘ Well, on Tuesday we had one of the bi ggest"tides" since I came out. Our
creek was just all over the place, and was flowing so swiftly that rocks and
; trees were being carried down with it. Fortunately, there were no
i  midwifery calls that day, and we did not go out at all. On Wednesday the
Q flood had gone down a bit, but the trail up the creek was entirely different.
Where there had been mud was water; where there was water there were
 t rocks and trees; in place of small stones was a layer of sand; and in other
places the sand was washed off and stones remained. I had some work
» to do a good way off, and was not in till nearly 5 p.m.
That night, about 10, the phone rang. It was Miss Worcester
from the next district, the Margaret Durbin Harper Center, IO miles away
at Bowlingtown in Perry County. She was with a matemity case who was
j not getting on very fast, and had had a call to another maternity case
`  where she was expecting serious trouble. Could we" hang on" to the first
patient? Of course we said we would. As it was really out of our district
I Miss MacDonald was to take the case, and I rode over to show her the
 I way, and to wait if the patient was quick, but come back if she was slow,
in case of other calls. It was a very dark night and we made rather slow
time going up the still scarcely recognizable Bullskin Creek, and on up
_ Leatherwood. However, we got over our 10 miles eventually.

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We had not been at the patient’s house long when there came a  
boy with a message from Miss Worcester at her second patient saying she
was in difficulties, had tried unsuccessfully to get our doctor, and if a
nurse from Brutus had arrived, would she go to her when possible. So
I off I went this time. It was a cold night, and I had my sheepskin, thick  
i gloves and mittens and raincoat in case of rain. The boy said we would i
{ have to leave "Lady Jane" where she was, as it was impossible to cross I,
the river except by boat. So we trundled into the boat, about 1 a.m., and M
all in the dark he paddled me over. He took me to his father’s house,
where his father was wrestling with the phone, still trying to get Dr.
Kooser. I gathered that a man named "Mack" was to take me to Miss
Worcester. In the ordinary way it was only a few minutes horseback ride .
on the road, but the river was so dangerous, and all over the road, that it
was necessary to go over the mountain to reach her.
Off we wentand "Mack" was excellent. We went slick up a hill i
and slick down again, no sort of path, just plunging headlong through l
{ bushes, mud, thawing snow, briars and brambles, slippery leaves, holes l
and what not. I had my flashlight and clutched that in one hand and
5 "Mack" with the other. I fell down lots of times and was covered in mud ,
Q from head to foot. It took us nearly an hour, instead of 10 minutes by the .
i road. Miss Worcester and I were there for the rest of the night. The ,
woman was very ill, but by the moming her general condition seemed
improved, and as it was impossible to get a doctor we suggested that she
W might go to the Hyden Hospital. In the ordinary way she would be
"stretchered" all the way, about 17 miles, but the rivers were up, so we I
{ had to put our brains together to think of something else. E
I Miss Worcester thought we might return to the Bowlingtown  l
g Nursing Center for breakfast and to make transport arrangements, by a  "
l worse bit of the hill but a shorter way. Well, if the way with "Mack" was
anightmare, the other was perfectly ghastly,rightdown the face of a cliff.
Every twig and branch broke in our hands, all the stones or rocks we tried `“
to hold on to came away in our hands, and in several places the only thing I
1 to do was to sit down and just slide over the mud on our pants. We were `I
  in a mess, hair streaming, hands cut and bleeding, and plastered with  `
  mud. We felt ready for our breakfast by 7 a.m., when we got in. Miss 3
  Worifsterbdidka losh of masterly ortganizing, and it was arranged that she  I
wou go ac to e patient and 1X her up, and I would be back at the  _
i patient’s house, after a clean up and slight rest, at 11 a.m. in order to take  ;
I her to Hyden. Miss Worcester, being on a single district, could not be  
E away. We knew that from a place about four miles away, called Gay’s »
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; QUARTERLY BULLETIN 11
. Creek, there should be a "bus" some time during the aftemoon, that
connected with a train at Chavies, which would go to Hazard. There,
some of the hospital nurses could meet the train and take the patient by
car for the last 25 miles. Of course we both had to cross that hill again,
  but we did not repeat the performance of the cliff. The other way (Mack’s
I way), was not so bad by daylight, and the snow was gone, and even some
  of the mud had dried up.
tl Just after l l a.m. I was back at the patient’s house, and they had
I made a stretcher of poles, two sacks and some quilts. The patient was well
wrapped, but was in such a poor condition that she could not keep warm,
so we put my sheepskin on, which was fine for her. We started off, four
men carryin g the stretcher and other men to be picked up en route. There
was talk of going part of the way to Gay’s Creek, down the river by boat,
but at first it was uncertain whether the men considered it safe to take a
” boat. We were about a mile from the river in any case, so we started off.
We had four men carrying the stretcher, and Nancy (the patient’s sister)
and I brought up the rear. Of course the track was very rough, just down
a creek. We had a long rest on someone’s porch near the river. We put
, the stretcher in the sun, and Nancy and I busied ourselves with the patient.
_ While there some of the men decided the river was all right, so we
_ proceeded down to the river. The boat looked very small, and the river
very swift. However, hoping for the best we discussed the best way of
arranging the patient. An extra piece of wood was nailed across, and the
_ stretcher was put endwise on the boat, the poles resting on two seats. One
 5 man sat in frontof the boat, then the stretcher, then Nancy and me together
E on a very small seat, and at the back another man for the steering. We just
went down on the tide.
 -~ It was a glorious day and the four-mile trip was really lovely,
with mountains all around. The rest of the men rode down on muleback,
At the mouth of Gay’s Creek we got out, about 2 p.m., and waited for the
. ·‘ "bus".
. AtChavies we had to go into the waiting room till the train came,
1 then four more men carried her out, and we hammered on the goods car
 ‘ door (baggage car) and up we leaped. The stretcher had to be on the floor,
 { and I shall never forget that hour’s ride. Nancy and I had to get a little
I amusement out of something, and we were nearly helpless over the dead
j. pigs, the crates of live chickens, and boxes of eggs. At Hazard two nurses
 _ from Hyden Hospital met us with a large car. They managed to get the
Z patient on to the back seat, and they drove the last 25 miles. We have
‘ heard since that the patient is doing well but the baby was dead. We knew

 1 12 FRONTIER NURSING SERVICE &
l that before she left home.  
At last I arrived back at Miss Worcester’s nursing center at  
midday. We had a jolly lunch together, than I was put across the river in E
a boat, retrieved "Lady Jane’ with many thanks to her host, and tripped t
back the 10 miles to Brutus. '"
So you see it is not very easy getting a patient to a hospital when  
1 the rivers are up. The total distance the patient had to travel was 50-60 l 
miles instead of 17 if we could have "stretchered" her direct, crossing the M
rivers.
- Gwladys E. Doubleday, RN
"Hitching a Ride" ,
The Invitation
"Barb Gibson is on the line." "I haven’t talked to Barb Gibson
in some time, I wonder how she is." As fellow members of Kentucky
Hospital Admitting Managers and counterparts at Jewish Hospital - .
t Louisville and Mary Breckinridge Hospital - Hyden, Barb and I, as
Q Admitting Office Managers, have become friends over the years. f
j It has been a while since I have talked to Barb and I learn she has V
Q changed jobs and currently is in Public Relations at the Frontier Nursing
1 Service. Itell Barb aboutour new SkyCare Helicopter and how the crew
will be logging some hours while they become acclimated with the
aircraft. They are planning to take it to various Hospital Emergency i
Rooms for staff and local E.M.T.'s to have a look. Barb extends an  :
invitation to come to Hyden. =_
  The Day of Ascent if  p
i As I drive to work this moming I can see from the expressway if
  for a mile or so the SkyCare Heliport, the wind sock is lazily responding .
to a rather calm atmosphere, and I notice the rotors are turning on the new _,
Dolphine (my ride to Eastern Kentucky). My heart picks up a beat, and »
a sense of pride fills my very soul. (In an hour or so I will be flying away.) ¥’ 
I arrive at the Heliport early, excited and happy to meet my `i_ 
Q fellow passengers. There is Chris, the Nurse, Chris, the Paramedic, Mary ¥
i Helen, the Communications Specialist, and Jack, the Pilot. All are as  
E excited to fly outto Eastern Kentucky today to show off their new aircraft  
1 as I am to get to ride along. ` 
1 Iclimb aboard the helicopter and am strapped into a seat directly  
I behind the pilot but facing the rear of the aircraft. I receive the proper  
[ 2
{ :
` l
I
l .

 i QUARTERLY BULLETIN 13
  safety instructions and am given a headset with a voice activated
i microphone to wear. The jet engines pick up momentum and suddenly
E we begin the ascent. Gently, we are lifted into the aircraft’s natural
I element, the air.
'* We are suspended in midair now looking down on the city.
Q Folks are going about their daily routine, traffic stopped for a red light,
l p a fire engine in the distance. We are moving up and starting now to move
M forward and the view becomes panoramic. We experience the aimlessly
wandering river bed of the Ohio, the Louisville skyline, and the open
fields of Jefferson County. The view is breathtaking, I look around at my
fellow passengers and see that they are likewise awed by the experience.
The only sound we hear is a crackle in the headset followed by "This is
I SkyCare One ..... " and then hushed silence. Soon I am losing at a game
I am playing of being able to recognize land marks.
We are flying South and East now through open country side,
over a patchwork of variegated green fields mixed with acres of rich
‘ brown soil. Quilted together by fence rows dotted with barren trees,
' covering the gently rolling terrain. The continuity is interrupted only by
. an emerald river meandering along between tree lined banks, and a
distant highway directing the joumey of a bright yellow school bus.
Nearing Eastern Kentucky now, from this vantage I can see the
mountains popping up on the horizon, nurturing stately trees that are
t stripped of leaves by winters icy fingers. Their starkness against the blue
‘ grey February sky reminds me of a pen and ink etching. Between these
 = majestic mountains the hollows are clearly defined. Mountain homes are
2  dotted randomly along on either side of a creek bed, smoke spirals
 . upward the remains of a moming fire stoked to ward off winter’s chill.
The Arrival
‘ The itinerary for the day is Appalachian Regional Hospital in
·a Hazard, Mary Breckinrid ge Hospital in Hyden and Appalachian Regional
T. Hospital in Harlan.
I At Hyden we spot the Mary Breckinrid ge Hospital from the air
 { and notice a neighboring school. The two are connected by a school yard
  scattered with children at play. Our pilot is concerned about the children
  and we circle the area again. This time when we come around the
.  mountain the children disburse and are watching from behind the school
f yard fence. We hover briefly and gently descend onto the baseball
ig diamond. As I look around I see children peering out the classroom
_’ windows and know that we have caused some young ones to be distracted

 14 FRONTIER NURSING SERVICE
from their studies.
As the jet engines whine down, the rotors slow to a stop, Chris
the paramedic walked to the school yard fence to see if the children want
to have a closer look at the aircraft. As I climb out of the Helicopter I hear P
a cheer go up and then silence as Chris explains the functions of the Air j
Ambulance to a captivated audience. A single file of children thread
through the school yard fence to "check out" this magnificent flying ,_
machine.  
A Q
·l  ‘r*     ?>~ >a `‘;a·a r- I l   ‘ .·   Q 5
wi. r—»:· ··   <-U I, umml V _~ ., —   ==·%-rt _, .
   A C t‘ . g     -  ¤ c    I. I
, "‘ .  jj      .— ;  _ lr __ j *  `\ it
S kycare-at H yden  
I walk through the crowd of curious children and am greeted by .
Hospital Employees who are expecting us. -I find Barb Gibson and we are
off to Wendover. That beautiful breathtaking clearing on the Middle Fork
of the Kentucky River. As Barb and I walk along the path leading to the .