Dear Frontier Community, 

We are approaching the end of another week in the midst of the COVID 19 Pandemic.  We continue to make decisions daily to assure the best experience possible for all of our students given the situation at hand. At the beginning of this week, we made the decision to suspend all students from clinical for a two week period. This allowed us to assess the situation and get the most up to date picture of the current status of all of our clinical students. We know that we have many students who have been suspended at the request of their clinical site. We also have students who want to continue clinical and we have students who would prefer to take a stop out given the impact of the pandemic on their lives. As you know FNU students and clinical sites are located across the country from New York to Florida to Mississippi to North Dakota to California. While all states are experiencing the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the impact is different state to state. For these multiple reasons we have decided to move forward to allow some students to return to clinical sites as we begin the Spring Term 2020 on April 6. 

The FNU Leadership team has worked together to create a detailed plan for clinical students that will be implemented over the next week. We will be doing our best to treat clinical students individually given their situation. Students who were already in  the clinical portion of their program and were affected by the suspension of clinical experience this week will be contacted individually by their Regional Clinical Faculty (RCF). The RCF will work with each student to create an individual plan that is appropriate for that student. 

Students planning to attend Clinical Bound during the Spring Term 2020 will have the opportunity to attend a virtual Clinical Bound followed by a virtual clinical course which will enable them to complete their initial clinical hours and requirements during spring term. Department Chairs will work with students who attend Clinical Bound to design an individual plan for each student depending on their needs and clinical site availability. 

Students planning to attend Frontier Bound in the Spring Term 2020 will attend virtual Frontier Bound sessions and begin their didactic courses on schedule with no interruption. Students who are in didactic courses are encouraged to continue their coursework as scheduled. 

Any student, regardless of where they are in their program of study may decide that it is best for them to take an Academic Hiatus during Spring Term. We understand there are many unforeseen challenges confronting our students and their families as we all deal with the many consequences of the COVID 19 Pandemic. Feel free to discuss this with your Academic Advisor. 

This memo is intended to give the community an overview of our current plans. Our goal is to provide all students with a quality education. There are many details that will be provided to students as the individual plans are created. We don’t want to delay student progression unnecessarily but realize our current situation is challenging. We want to be able to assist each student to meet their goals. To do this, we all have to work together and we all have to be patient with each other.  We are all in this together. Please let me know if you have questions. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Stone
President 

Dear Frontier Staff,

As you may have seen by now, Governor Brashear released a new Executive Order today prohibiting “in-person work that is not necessary to protect or sustain life.” We are now asking all employees, except for facilities and security (as they are covered under the “Minimum Business Operations” exemption), to work from home starting Friday, March 27, 2020. Additional staff that have functions considered “Minimum Basic Operations" (see page 5 of the Exec Order) can work with their supervisor to develop a plan to complete those tasks in the office (but only if those tasks can not be completed at home). 

As before, you are still welcome to come into the office if you prefer. Please make sure to isolate yourselves, not just keeping six feet of distance but also ensuring you are not touching the same surfaces/materials as others. 

For those that don’t already have an approved telecommuting agreement, please submit one (make a copy of this template) to your supervisor before the end of the day tomorrow. In the “Work Schedule” section of the agreement, please make sure to note that this is a temporary schedule that only covers the time period of the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

The Leadership Committee continues to meet daily to discuss the effect of the pandemic on our employees, students and operations. Please reach out if you have questions or concerns. 

Take care and stay safe!

Sincerely,

Shelley Aldridge
Frontier Nursing University
Chief Operations Officer

Dear Clinical Site Leader,

I want to thank you for your important work in both caring for patients and allowing our students to learn in your facility. Given the severity of the COVID 19 situation, we have made the decision to discontinue all of our Master of Science in Nursing and Postgraduate nurse practitioner and nurse-midwife students' clinical experience at this time.

Some of our clinical sites have already discontinued clinical rotations. For those who have allowed our students to remain in clinical, Frontier Nursing University has made the decision to institute a minimum two-week hiatus as we all continue to assess the situation. While I know that you have many other issues taking up your valuable time, we did want to keep you informed and continue to communicate as the situation warrants. As conditions improve, our clinical faculty will be in touch to work with you to resume our students' clinical education rotations.

Again, thank you for being our partner in clinical education. We wish you the very best as we all continue to battle to keep people as safe as possible. If you have questions, please feel free to contact our Clinical Credentialing office at clinicalcredentialing@frontier.edu.

Very sincerely,

Dr. Susan Stone
President
Frontier Nursing University

Dear FNU Preceptor,

We know that you may have questions related to Frontier Nursing University students' continued clinical rotations during the rapidly-changing situation around COVID19. Due to the updated CDC recommendations and state responses, Frontier Nursing University has made the difficult decision to stop all clinical rotations until April 7, 2020. The situation will be reassessed at that time. Students are not to report to your clinical site after the close of business, Monday, 3/23/20.

The decision to halt clinical rotations and reassess in 2 weeks was not made lightly. We believe that allowing continued clinical rotations contradicts the recommendations of national, local and state health departments. Please rest assured that we are following the situation closely and are prepared to support our students and preceptors through this crisis. Please watch your email regularly as we communicate decisions related to clinical rotations. Your Regional Clinical Faculty will be in close communication regarding clinical rotations.

Please know that we will continue to work on solutions to ensure students’ academic progression. We thank you for your continued partnership and gift of precepting.

Sincerely,

Sincerely,

Katheryn Arterberry                   Audrey Perry                                     Susan Piper
FNP Clinical Director                 CNEP/WHNP Clinical Director            PMHNP Clinical Director

Dear Frontier Community,

As we all continue to navigate the effects of the COVID 19 virus together, I understand that everyone’s lives have been disrupted including our students, faculty staff, board of directors and our supporters. I’m sure this is causing an inordinate amount of stress for all of our community members. I hope that each and every one of you can take the time to step outside and take a deep breath of fresh air.  Know that together we will get through this.

This week at Frontier Nursing University we made the difficult decision to discontinue the clinical placement of more than 490 clinical students for the next two weeks. In reality more than 200 of those students had already been dismissed from their clinical sites due to changes in the policies of the sites, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  During these next two weeks we will be assessing the status of and recommendations for clinical experiences for our students. We know that there is a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment and this was one reason why clinical sites were limiting students. We also know that healthcare workers are themselves at increased risk for infection. For these reasons, we felt that we needed to pause the clinical experience during this time. We continue to closely monitor the spread of the virus, the effect on the healthcare workforce and the state and national recommendations to assist us in making the best decisions possible that affect our students. 

FNU is moving forward with the start of the Spring Term on April 6, 2020. Online classes will begin as scheduled. We are also processing applications for the Summer Term which will start online classes on July 6. We plan to hold our Frontier Bound sessions as well as our Clinical Bound sessions during the spring term. We held our first completely virtual Frontier Bound orientation last week and according to student reviews, it was a great success. Our faculty is hard at work creating virtual clinical bound sessions in case we need them. We must be able to adapt to this changing situation as we receive updated information. We will keep you informed along the way. We do plan to transition back to on-campus sessions as soon as it is safe to do so. We are working hard at the goal of keeping students moving towards their goals during this challenging time.  At the same time, we understand that for some, there will be a need to stop academic progress for a period of time. We are doing our best to accommodate the varying needs of our students. The Banyan Tree Portal is being kept current with communications and updates. 

Our faculty and staff are primarily working from home with just a few essential staff on campus and those who prefer to work in offices on-campus alone. Everyone is hard at work ensuring that we accommodate the needs of our students. 

Take care yourselves. Please consider taking the time to watch this 11-minute presentation on self-care strategies by Dr. Jess Calohan, Department Chair of PMHNP.  Do whatever is the very best to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. We will come out on the other side stronger and we will have learned many important lessons.  

Sincerely,

Susan Stone, CNM, DNSc
President  

Dear FNU Clinical Students,

We know that you may have concerns about your clinical experiences and the fast-changing situation around COVID19. Due to the updated CDC recommendations and state responses, Frontier Nursing University has made the difficult decision to stop all clinical rotations until April 7, 2020. The situation will be reassessed at that time.  You are not to report to your clinical site after the close of business today, Monday, 3/23/20. Please rest assured that we are following the situation closely and are prepared to support you through this health care crisis. 

In order to support your academic progress, we encourage you to complete clinical course assignments during these two weeks. Additionally, we are increasing the number of non-face to face clinical hours from 18 to 30 hours.  Please contact your RCF to approve appropriate experiences/ education.  

Please know that we will continue to work on solutions to ensure your academic progression.  Your safety is our primary concern and the successful completion of your program of study is a close second! Your faculty, clinical directors and department chairs are available should you need us.

Sincerely,

Katheryn Arterberry                   Audrey Perry                                     Susan Piper
FNP Clinical Director                 CNEP/WHNP Clinical Director            PMHNP Clinical Director

Good Afternoon,

Many of you may have some concerns and questions in regard to some of our policies and seek guidance should there be an occurrence related to COVID-19. We recognize the hardship this epidemic has caused and we want you to know we are diligently making every effort to ensure all employees and students across the country are healthy and safe. As a result, we have created the COVID-19 Workplace Policy that is effective immediately. We will review, update, and announce any changes to the policy if needed. 

Please review the policy and if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Human Resources Department by email or by phone. 

I hope everyone is safe and well.

Sincerely,

LaToshia Daniel, MSHRML, SHRM-CP
Frontier Nursing University
Human Resources Director

Dear Faculty and Staff,
Frontier Nursing University is following the news and recommendations of the COVID 19 Pandemic very closely. Today, the CDC recommended that for the next eight weeks there be no gatherings greater than 50 persons. Also “ that events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene, and social distancing.  When feasible, organizers could modify events to be virtual.”
 
Given this information, we have made the decision to convert all Clinical Bound sessions to online sessions through at least May 9, 2020. I will share the message that will be sent to students today. At this point, we plan to run those on the scheduled Clinical Bound dates. We will adapt as the situation unfolds. If students need to delay their Clinical Bound due to clinical site issues, we will plan extra Clinical Bound sessions in the future. We know that some students are not being allowed to attend their clinical sites. We will be in close contact with all students planning Clinical Bound and who are in clinical as this situation continues to unfold. Each student will be attended to individually to assure their needs are met to the best of our ability. 
 
Frontier Bound orientation sessions will continue to be held virtually throughout May and June 2020. 
 
Based on Governor Beshear’s closure of all dining facilities and in order to limit gatherings to less than ten people, it has also been decided to close Wendover until May 9. We are working with the staff there to develop a plan for them during this time. 
 
For you, our employees, we want to be able to care for you as well. We know that you are dealing with the stress of the many unprecedented changes and restrictions that are taking place. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to take time off due to the COVID 19 Pandemic, please talk to your supervisor or the Human Resource Director.  We will do our best to assist you. For employees who were asked to start telecommuting full-time (if approved by their supervisor) that agreement also continues through May 9. 
 
We are recommending no plane travel, no on-site site visits, no on-site case days and that you avoid large meetings as recommended by the CDC through May 9, 2020. That said, we would like to engage in a very interactive on-line work environment to support each other and to support our students. I am encouraging you all to be creative and create social situations online during the work day. This could include ZOOM meetings to share what’s happening or to have lunch together. I am sure that you can all be much more creative than that as well. 

Sincerely,
 

Susan Stone
President 

Dear Frontier Students,
 
This is an unprecedented time in our country as we are all dealing with the COVID 19 Pandemic. As health care providers we are all affected to an even greater degree. Our goal at this time is to help you continue on your educational path successfully while understanding that some of you may need to pause to attend to the collateral issues associated with the pandemic. This could be caused by increased demands of your place of employment, illness of you or a family member or another situation. Students who are in the didactic portion of the program: your faculty are here to assure that you can continue as planned with no interruption. If you find that there is a reason that you need to be away from your program because of this pandemic, please notify your Department Chair (CNEP/WHNP- tonya.nicholson@frontier.edu; FNP- lisa.chappel@frontier.edu; PMHNP- jess.calohan@frontier.edu) so that we can consider an Academic Hiatus or other arrangements specific to your needs. We will strive to be flexible to meet your needs if you encounter situations related to the pandemic that affect your academic progress.

Students who are in the clinical portion of your program: we recognize that many of you are being told that your clinical sites are now closed to students. If this affects you, you should notify your Regional Clinical Faculty to determine the next course of action. This could be relocation to another site on your clinical plan or if you need to stop out for a time, we will be flexible with timelines. We are here to assist you in your decision making. We have asked all of your Regional Clinical Faculty to cease doing on-site visits so that they can be available to you for consultations with minimal delay. They may schedule and perform virtual site visits if needed. 
 
You will be hearing from your Department Chairs, Clinical Directors and your Regional Clinical Faculty as well depending on where you are in your program. Please stay in close communication and regularly check your FNU email, as this situation continues to unfold. This is a rapidly changing daily scenario and we will be following this closely and responding to the best of our ability to assure your needs are met. We are here to help in any way that we can.
 
Sincerely,
Dr. Susan Stone
President 
 
Dr. Joan Slager
Dean

Due to concerns about the COVID19 virus, we have decided to convert the Frontier Bound/DNP Bound session scheduled for March 16-19, 2020 to an online workshop. We believe this is the best course of action at this time. We will provide an information-packed, meaningful experience that will give our Frontier Bound students the information that they need to get started in their new program, and create that sense of Community that is a core value of FNU, and distinguishes us from other distance programs.   New students attending Frontier Bound next week, stay tuned and keep your scheduled time for Frontier Bound open. You will soon be hearing from your Department Chair about the details and schedule of the Frontier Bound Online Workshop. More information about attending the required sessions for next week will be arriving soon, so watch your emails. Also, please prepare a place where you will be able to participate in the sessions without distractions or interruptions. You will need a good internet connection, laptop or computer, headset with microphone and a webcam. For students who are currently on-campus, know that we are doing our very best to take good care of you. We encourage everyone to follow normal infection prevention procedures. Two primary strategies 1. If you are sick, please notify your faculty member. This is very important. 2. Wash your hands. Ensure handwashing strategies include washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not immediately available. 3. Appropriately cover coughs and sneezes. These very basic public health measures can have a huge impact on the spread of any infection. We are also closely following CDC Guidelines for cleaning our facilities. 
  
Our next on-site campus session is a Clinical Bound session that starts on April 11, 2020 which is one month from now. We are not cancelling any planned on-site campus Clinical Bound sessions at this time. We will of course continue to monitor the situation and will make a different decision if necessary. I want to reassure you that we are not planning to cancel any sessions. Your very creative faculty members are busy designing an online Clinical Bound just in case we need it. To be clear, this is not our best scenario, but we can do it if it is necessary. Our goal is not to interrupt your education.  We will provide more information as it becomes available. Frontier Bound students, you will be hearing more details very soon. 

Sincerely,
Dr. Susan Stone

Dear Frontier Community,
 
Frontier Nursing University is closely monitoring the spread and the impact of the COVID 19 virus. At this point in time, the outbreak is being characterized by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as an ”emerging, rapidly evolving situation.” According to the CDC, there are no restrictions on travel within the United States at this time. What is important is that we take preventive actions to prevent the spread of infection including COVID 19 and INFLUENZA. Two primary strategies 1. If you are sick, please stay home. This is very important. Whether coming to an office, entering a clinical site or attending an on-campus session, it is important to stay home if you are not feeling well. 2. Wash your hands. Ensure handwashing strategies include washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not immediately available. 3. Appropriately cover coughs and sneezes. These very basic public health measures can have a huge impact on the spread of any infection.  The CDC is providing updates nearly daily. This one published over the weekend provides much information. I encourage you to review this. 
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html

In the meantime, know that we are monitoring the situation closely. We are not restricting travel at this time. We are developing alternative plans if restricted travel becomes necessary. We will keep you informed. That said, we have students and faculty all over the United States, and we cannot know the individual situation of every person. If anyone feels threatened by any required assignment in a clinical site or required travel, they should contact their Clinical Director to discuss their concern if they are in clinical or their Department Chair if they are in the didactic portion of their program. Don’t hesitate to contact your faculty members or your supervisor of any concerns as this situation continues to evolve. 

Sincerely,
Dr. Stone