HYDEN, KY -- U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers (KY-05) sent a letter to the board of directors at Frontier Nursing University, requesting the prompt return of a beloved 15th century stained-glass window to St. Christopher's Chapel in Hyden, Kentucky, where Mary Breckinridge pioneered the Frontier Nursing Service in the 1920s. Frontier Nursing University recently removed the historic window to be installed at its new campus and headquarters in Versailles, Kentucky. 

"I join the people of Leslie County who are calling on the FNU Board of Directors to return the original stained-glass window to its rightful place at St. Christopher's Chapel, where Mary Breckinridge's mission of love first began," stated Congressman Rogers in the letter. "Quite frankly, the action taken by this board to quietly remove the stained-glass window, as well as the educational operations from Leslie County, does not align with Mary Breckinridge’s legendary heart of service and courageous action for the Appalachian people." 

"Mary Breckinridge pioneered a selfless passion for healthcare that often gets lost in a world of greed today. Her courage of conviction to brave the mountainsides and cross rushing waters on horseback just to help mothers and babies in one of the most impoverished parts of the country continues to inspire rural healthcare providers even now," said Congressman Rogers. 

Congressman Rogers encouraged the FNU to use a replica of the window on the Versailles campus and return the original to the people of Leslie County. 

Click here to read Congressman Rogers' letter

To learn more about Congressman Rogers’ work in Washington and in Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District, visit halrogers.house.gov and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.