Interview with Alberta Kelly, April 26, 1979

Interview Summary

Alberta Kelly's mother and father both served on the FNS Board of Governors during the 1960s. She remembers several girlhood visits to Wendover, during which she had the opportunity to accompany the nurse-midwives and the couriers on their rounds. Kelly gives her impressions of Mary Breckinridge and assesses her strengths and her leadership ability. Kelly herself became a member of the Board of Governors in 1975. She discusses changes in the FNS, including increased government involvement, higher fees, and active participation of local people in decision- making. Kelly comments upon attempts by the FNS to adjust to changing social conditions in the local area and to changing approaches to health care funding at the national level.

Interview Keyword

Appalachian Region--Social conditions Frontier Nursing Service Board of Governors Medical centers--Finance Rural conditions

Interview LC Subject

Breckinridge, Mary, 1881-1965 Frontier Nursing Service, Inc. Medical care--Appalachian Region Medical centers--Administration Rural health services Rural health--Kentucky

Interview Rights

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.