title: Swinging bridges of opportunity and challenges: memoirs of an African American nurse practitioner pioneer on providing primary care for the underserved.
abstract: This article presents the memoirs of Mrs. Viola D. Brown, RN, FNP, a pioneer African American nurse practitioner, on opportunities and challenges involved in providing primary and public health care for underserved populations in urban and rural areas of Kentucky. Mrs. Brown began her career with a visit to Mary Breckinridge and the Frontier Nursing Service, and she was elected into the University of Kentucky's Department of Public Health Hall of Fame in 2005. This article is an adapted version of the closing keynote address presented at the 13th Primary Care for the Underserved Conference held March 2005.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Nursing at the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing, P.O. Box 528, 195 School Street, Hyden, Kentucky 41749, USA.
authors.forename: Viola D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marfell
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000266:history*; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000266:history*; D006676:History of Nursing; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000266:history*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000266:history; D014481:United States