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Hannah Anderson
H2004-17-21


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Hannah Anderson was born in Alatna on December 10, 1924 and was raised in Old Bettles (five miles downriver from the current Bettles site). Her father was a sternwheeler operator and her mother raised Hannah and her three siblings. Hannah lived in Bettles and started the lodge in 1950 and then moved to Fairbanks to raise her children. Hannah began her career as a health aide in 1979 after her three children were grown. Her sister, Rhoda, and her friend, Helen McConnell, suggested she become a health aide and move back to Bettles. Dr. Walter Johnson, a longtime friend, had a big influence on her becoming a health aide. At first, she worked out of her house for two years without running water. Later, she and the alternate health aide worked out of the clinic and sometimes had to respond to emergencies in surrounding villages. Hannah retired in 2000 and misses the health aide family she developed over the years. She now spends time between life in Bettles and her children who live in Fairbanks and Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Click on a section below to access the audio.
Hannah Anderson talks with Marla Statscewich on October 25, 2005 at her home in Bettles/Evansville, Alaska about...
1) Background information about her family and childhood.
Brasil, Eva\ Tobuk, David\ Alatna\ Alatna -- grandparents\ Missionary -- nurse\ Allakaket\ Bettles\ father -- job\ riverboat pilot\ mother -- homemaker\ mother -- death\ Myrtle Creek\ grandfather -- prospector\ Kobuk\ childhood\ Old Bettles\ siblings -- number of\ father -- marriages\ half-sisters -- caring for|
2) How she became a health aide.
Old Bettles\ World War II -- effect of\ family -- move\ Fairbanks\ Lower 48\ Bettles -- return to\ Andersen, Jim -- husband\ Evans, Wilfred\ logs -- cutting\ Bettles Lodge -- construction of\ building -- frame\ health aide -- interest in\ children -- number of\ children -- raising\ children -- marriages\ Evansville\ Tobuk, Rhoda\ McConnell, Helen\ Tobuk, Frank\ Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement Act\ village -- establishment of\ health aide -- Evansville\ Johnson, Dr. Walter\ Anchorage\ village council|
3) Her first training in Anchorage and doubts she had about her career as a health aide.
training\ session -- first\ Anchorage\ Alaska Native Service Hospital\ Community Health Aide Program (CHAP)\ check-in\ health aides -- number of\ Johnson, Dr. Walter\ patients -- talking to\ program -- explanation of\ lectures\ training -- on the job\ skills -- learning\ blood pressure\ skills -- practice\ hospital -- patients\ job -- difficulty of\ blood -- drawing\ professionals -- nurses, doctors\ feelings\ health aide|
4) Moving back to Bettles after her first training and how she re-established herself there.
training -- length of\ Johnson, Dr. Walter -- office\ villages -- health care\ job -- learning\ determination\ blood -- drawing\ Bettles\ home -- construction of\ Fairbanks\ home -- sale of\ health aide -- role\ job -- different\ outlook -- different\ Bettles Lodge -- connection with\ Independent Lumber -- packages\ car\ truck\ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)\ families -- size of\ freight -- delivery of\ airplane -- charter\ training -- second session\ Bettles -- clinic\ council -- building\ work -- space for\ medicines -- storage of\ patients\ equipment\ training|
5) Her first years as a health aide in Bettles.
house -- construction\ house -- completion\ water -- running\ heat -- wood\ outhouse\ furniture\ medicines -- movement\ clinic -- extra bedroom\ Tobuk, Rhoda\ storage -- cold\ water -- hauling of\ equipment -- sterilization of\ equipment -- disposable\ appointments\ telephone\ Evansville\ Wiseman\ Anaktuvak Pass\ Crevice Creek\ Wiseman\ Public Health Nurses\ school nurses\ nurses -- visits\ visits -- frequency of\ screenings\ public school\ children -- number of\ health service\ instructors -- coordination\ physician's assistants|
6) Some of the challenges of running a clinic out of a rustic cabin, including trying to maintain a clean water supply.
physician's assistants\ instructors -- coordinating\ training\ health aides\ manual -- changes in\ medicines -- changes in\ training -- visits\ medication -- supply\ Androuli, Jim -- physician's assistant\ Fairbanks\ Chief Andrew Isaac Clinic\ clinic -- construction of\ village council\ clinic -- funding of\ water --cleanliness\ water -- container\ container -- garbage can\ waiting room -- description of\ patients|
7) How she re-adapted to village life, the arrival of running water, and an emergency at a Swann Drilling mining camp that she especially remembers.
hardships\ Fairbanks\ homes -- modern\ doubts\ outhouse\ honey bucket\ water -- hauling\ heating\ bath tub\ attitude -- change of\ village council\ water -- quality of\ well -- drilling of\ clinic -- water\ water -- running\ health aide -- alternate\ Castello, Naomi\ clinic -- hours\ work -- on-call\ Castello, Ron\ Brooks Range Aviation -- air carrier\ Wiseman -- mining company\ accident -- fall\ accident -- injury\ pipeline -- medics\ flight -- 207 aircraft\ helicopter\ mining camp\ Swann Drilling\ floor -- cement|
8) More about the Swann Drilling accident and stabilizing the patient, who eventually died from complications with his injuries.
Castello, Naomi\ patient -- stabilization\ patient -- transport\ Wiseman\ airplane\ Fairbanks\ health aides -- accompaniment\ travel -- frequency of\ accidents\ emergencies\ stress\ patient -- size of\ injuries -- extent of\ manual\ pain -- injection for\ IVs -- use of\ weather\ flight -- turbulence\ patient -- caring for\ airsickness\ places -- trading\ flight -- duration of\ patient -- stable\ patient -- death\ blood clot -- trauma\ bones -- broken|
9) What it was like to always be on call, and a story about an emergency she remembers well.
work -- schedule\ work -- hours\ health aide -- alternate\ Castello, Naomi\ call-outs -- frequency of\ walking\ temperatures -- cold\ emergency\ tongue -- bleeding\ medication -- blood thinner\ clinic\ James, Dr. William\ doctor -- on call\ doctor -- report to\ patient -- medevac\ blood -- quantity of\ gauze -- absorption\ IV -- use of\ health aides -- on call|
10) How she dealt with the stress of working as a health aide, and some information on how she helped with pregnancies in the village including an unusual story about a birth.
job -- stress of\ traumas -- coping\ support\ village -- support from\ vacation -- need for\ job -- rewards of\ helping\ babies -- delivery of\ babies -- prenatal care\ delivery -- hospital\ Public Health Nurses\ Old Town\ family\ pregnancy\ summer\ travel -- boat\ husband -- busy\ clients -- tourists\ children -- number of\ labor -- Old Town\ delivery -- pick up truck\ umbilical cord -- clamp\ baby -- care for\ mother -- care for\ mother -- shock\ clinic\ Castello, Naomi\ conditions -- sterility|
11) How health care worked in her village before the health aide program, and the role she played in educating people about basic health issues.
village -- health care\ job -- retirement\ health aide -- prior\ health care -- methods of\ families -- FAA\ health care -- travel for\ State of Alaska -- employees\ National Park Service\ EMT -- first responders\ airplanes\ doctors -- communication with\ communication -- telephone\ communication -- radio\ role models -- professional\ Johnson, Dr. Walter\ Androuli, Jim\ Public Health Nurses\ screenings\ immunizations\ Bettles Lodge\ public health nurses -- visits\ visits -- frequency of\ clinic -- set up\ injections\ examinations -- PAP smears\ examinations -- check-ups\ immunizations\ children -- fluoride\ dental care -- preventative\ teeth -- extraction\ education -- health\ health care -- preventative\ diet\ cleanliness\ water\ cuts -- treatment of\ infection\ burns\ washing\ medicine|
12) Changes she has seen in communication technology -- especially the fax machine.
communication -- changes\ clinic -- equipment\ equipment -- fax machine\ technology -- catching on\ education -- formal\ fax machine -- use of\ Renner, Jesse\ Chief Andrew Isaac Clinic\ Fairbanks -- health service\ clinics -- fax machines\ technology -- problems with\ electricity -- power surges\ Evansville\ magazine -- cartoon\ communication -- methods of\ workshops -- coordination of\ Fairbanks -- travel to\ Anchorage\ workshops -- types of\ classes -- emergency technical training (ETT)|
13) What it is like to be a retired health aide in a community where she worked for 17 years, and a discussion of the village's name.
jbo -- retirement\ retirement -- difficulties with\ village -- life in\ health aide -- reliance on\ supplies\ bandages\ medicine -- Betadine\ health aide -- lack of\ National Park Service\ emergencies\ Castello, Naomi -- retirement\ Chief Andrew Isaac Clinic\ Fairbanks\ nurses\ pharmacy\ hospital -- communication with\ Bettles -- population\ population -- seasonal\ Bettles -- airport\ Evansville -- Village Corporation\ Bettles\ village -- history\ village -- naming of\ Evans -- first settler\ Bettles Field -- runway\ Old Bettles -- distance|
14) The distinctions between Old Bettles, Evansville, and Bettles Field, and how the names came to be.
village -- history of\ village -- naming of\ Bettles\ Evansville\ Bettled Field\ Old Bettles -- relocation of\ FAA -- importance of\ FAA stations\ Tanana\ Galena\ Kotzebue\ Bettles\ flight service station -- Old Town\ runway\ Fairbanks\ Bettles\ Umiat\ Barrow\ White Alice site\ DEW-line\ runway -- area for\ old-timer -- Big Charlie\ scout\ runway -- maintenance\ FAA -- flight service\ flight service station -- relocation of\ Bettles Lodge -- beginning of\ children -- birth of\ Tanana\ Fairbanks\ FAA families\ McConnell twins -- birth of|
15) What she misses most about being a health aide.
health aide -- job\ job -- missing\ Tanana Hospital -- closure of\ doctors -- location of\ Fairbanks\ doctors -- communication with\ Moses, Bertha\ service area -- size of\ job -- retirement\ people -- contact with\ Galena\ McGrath\ Rampart\ workshops\ training\ health aides -- family\ doctors\ James, Dr. William|
16) A specific case she remembers working with Dr. James on to treat a young girl.
patient -- girl\ patient -- treatment\ doctor -- report to\ manual\ patient -- non-beneficiary\ medicine -- amoxicillin\ symptoms -- fever\ James, Dr. William\ Chief Andrew Isaac Clinic\ Fairbanks\ doctors -- communication with\ communication -- frequency of\ medicine -- penicillin\ child -- Native\ child -- non-Native\ patients -- care of\ medication -- allergy\ rash\ medication -- change\ patient -- recovery\ girl -- adoption|
17) About the mixed heritage of her village and how it has affected her in terms of languages, communication and her work as a health aide.
village -- life in\ village -- history\ village -- Native\ village -- ethnicity\ ethnicity -- mixture of\ English, Bill\ Wiseman\ Athabascan\ Eskimo\ White people -- Old Timers\ language -- English\ language -- proficiency\ language -- communication\ reading\ writing\ spelling\ doctors -- communication with\ symptoms -- descriptions of\ doctors -- trusting\ health aides\ nurses\ pharmacists\ ?, Marla\ health aides -- training\ health aides -- work of\ health aides -- expectations of|
18) Advice for prospective health aides and reflecting on how rewarding caring for others has been for her.
health aides -- advice\ family -- support\ job -- rewards of\ people -- caring for\ health\ Johnson, Dr. Walter -- support from\ program -- founder\ program -- belief in\ Tanana Chiefs Conference\ friends -- importance of|
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