Interview with Kate Ireland, November 1, 1979

Interview Summary

Kate Ireland first came to the FNS in 1951 as a junior courier. Her sister, her mother, and her great-aunt had been associated with the FNS before her, and her grandmother had been a donor. Ireland's mother became chairman of the Cleveland Committee, and Ireland remembers Mary Breckinridge giving a talk at her home. After serving as a courier several times in the early 1950s, Ireland was given charge of the couriers in 1961 and became national chairman in 1975. She comments at length upon what it was like to work for Breckinridge at Wendover. Ireland tells of Breckinridge's surgery and subsequent chemotherapy and the effects of her illness upon FNS operations. According to Ireland, many things changed within the FNS upon the death of Breckinridge in 1965 and the advent of Medicare and Medicaid in 1966. She explains that when donations did not cover expenses, the FNS had to accept funding from the government, a matter of concern to many of the FNS staff. Ireland indicates that the increasing complexity of treatment for various illnesses led to the Family Nurse Practitioner Program. She discusses changes in the local area and changes in the food people ate as a result of the Food Stamp Program. She also comments upon the Board of Governors and the current administration of the FNS.

Interview Keyword

Coal miners--Labor unions--Kentucky Community development--Kentucky Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing Health facilities. Medical care--Appalachian Region Medical centers--Finance Rural conditions Rural health services

Interview LC Subject

Appalachian Region--Economic conditions Appalachian Region--Social conditions Breckinridge, Mary, 1881-1965 Frontier Nursing Service, Inc. Hospitals--Administration Leslie County (Ky.) Leslie County (Ky.)--Politics and government Medical centers--Administration

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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.