Barbara Johnson, Part 1, Transcript Section 7

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Barbara Johnson, Part 1
Transcript Section 7

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KAREN: Well, it sounds like all those different things, that's a lot of things to be put on the shoulders of just a couple people.

BARBARA: Yeah. Well, you know, when I worked here the last few years I worked for diabetes, the diabetes program, keeping track of people that are diabetics, and then doing the testing, you know.

And some people that we found that have diabetes, we refer them to the doctor and to the diabetes person in Mount Edgecumbe. And they would go in and have their training, you know, on what to do, to help themselves, you know.

KAREN: Yeah.

BARBARA: And so we had that. I was in charge of that. And then also the travel part, too. That was.

KAREN: You had to arrange everybody's travel?

BARBARA: Pretty hectic, yeah. But now they have someone.

After I quit, when I retired, they got someone for the diabetes program, and then they got someone for the travel program. When I was doing those three, you know, it kept me pretty busy.

KAREN: Yeah. It takes three people to do the job you were doing, huh?

BARBARA: Yeah. It did. But it's good to see it working now, like I said. I really wanted to see it that way so it wouldn't cause one person, you know, a lot of strain and stress. Because it was stressful, you know.

KAREN: How did you -- how did you handle all that stress?

BARBARA: Well, I had -- I had my friend, Eva Sensemeyer (phonetic), who worked as a PA with us, and I'd always go and talk to her. Or our minister, Linda Westcott, you know, she -- she helped me a lot with stresses of my job. And then Dr. Pachelko (phonetic), you know, I could talk to him.

KAREN: And he's a doctor in Sitka?

BARBARA: He's the one that is our doctor for Yakutat.

KAREN: Oh.

BARBARA: He's our referral doctor. So he's the one that we call when we have any problems.

He's the one we call to ask what to do, you know, if something is wrong with someone, we don't know, we call him, and he either let's us know what to do here or has the patients medevaced in.

KAREN: So the hospital in Sitka, they have different doctors who are responsible for the different villages?

BARBARA: It's community, yeah.

KAREN: Well, that's good. You will always have the same doctor, then.

BARBARA: Yeah. We will see Dr. Pachelko, he's the one that's responsible for Yakutat. And Dr. Owens for Angoon. Dr. Bob for Kake.
I worked with a lot of them because I used to travel, too, to different communities, you know, whenever the health aide needed a break, sometimes they would call me and I'd go to work, like in Kake, I went to work there a couple times. And I worked there one whole month by myself.

KAREN: Wow.

BARBARA: You know. And then Hoonah. And Klawock, I went there to work.

KAREN: So you used to be itinerant?

BARBARA: Uh-hum. Yeah.

KAREN: And that was when you lived in Angoon?

BARBARA: Uh-hum. Yeah.

KAREN: So that left Jessie alone?

BARBARA: No. Actually, we had what we called substitute health aides at the time. And we would have the substitute health aide take my place while I go. You know.