Martina Lauterbach, Transcript Section 5

Community Health Aide Program Project Jukebox

Back to Interview Outline

Listen to Audio

Next Section

KAREN: So now, after you went and finished nursing school here in Anchorage, let's just sort of finish out how you got from 1976 to now and what you did. What did you do?

MARTINA: Well, when I first started, it used to be the Alaska Native Medical Center, which is the Indian Health Service.

KAREN: Uh-hum. That one downtown?

MARTINA: Downtown. Yes. When I started in 1978, November of 1978.

And I started working on their surgical floor at that hospital. And was there for, like, two and a half years on the floor working different shifts.

And I had -- I was just starting a family then. And decided to apply for a clinic job. So I went to pediatric clinic, and that was like a day job, 8:00 to 5:00, or 8:00 to 4:30, you know, job. And that was in 1981. And worked in that clinic for -- until 1984.

And then I figured, well, I need to get more experience in, you know, inpatient pediatrics, so I went into -- I applied for a Level 2 position for infant pediatrics. And worked there from 1984 to 1988. And, you know, got more experience in pediatrics then. And then in 1988, I applied for a research position, and that wasn't with Indian Health Service, that was contract with UCLA at the time.

And worked on the Hemophilus Influenza Type B vaccine study. And did that for two years. I actually got licensed. The -- you know.

And then after the two years, stayed in the state, I worked for the Center for disease control. And worked on the infant hepatitis study with Dr. McMann. And did that for a couple more years.

And then there was an opening for community health nurse at ANM -- you know, for IHS then. Immunization program. So I applied for that, I got that job. And did immunization -- trying to get the immunization rates up in Alaska. And did that, and in that program, they decided, well, you know, they were going to do home immunizations. And so I was doing, you know, home immunizations for pediatrics.

KAREN: That was here in Anchorage?

MARTINA: That was here in Anchorage. And then while I was there, they decided that they were going to start the high risk, you know, program for moms and infants. And so I did that and did community health high risk program with a nurse midwife that you know was working at ANMC then.

And I did that until 1996. Let's see. I'm trying to figure out the years. Oh, I did that, yeah, until 1996.

And then I did community -- no, yeah, field health, case managing for pediatrics, and this would be, like, for certain parts of Alaska. And we, you know, would get referrals in from Bethel, Dillingham, Barrow, and, you know, for pediatric patients.

And we would work on getting them in for appointments and, you know, try and get their appointments all taken care of by them here, you know, different types of appointments that they might need.

So I did that until November of '03. And then I got this job. And this is kind of like it's a research type of position and doing traditional food monitoring studies. And we did in Barrow, and then now we're doing the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation area villages and the Aleutian Pribilof Island Association villages. Doing the traditional food monitoring study.

KAREN: And what is that study?

MARTINA: It studies for contaminants, heavy metals, pesticides. And we're also doing some, you know, nutrients, stuff in the traditional foods that the pregnant moms eat.

And, you know, we get -- what we do is we recruit for pregnant moms when they come in for their first prenatal visit to YKHC or here in Anchorage for the API villages. And then when they -- we get their blood, you know, the time that they are being seen, and so that, you know, blood is checked for the, you know, contaminants.

And when the baby is born, then we get the cord blood, and then we check to see if there was any hemo transfer to the baby from, you know, those -- any of those contaminants. So that's pretty interesting.

KAREN: Yeah. That sounds neat.

MARTINA: Uh-hum (affirmative).

KAREN: So yeah, you're looking at anything to do with the health benefits of eating a traditional diet?

MARTINA: Yes. Uh-hum.

KAREN: And trying to encourage that with people?

MARTINA: Yes, we are. And then, you know, there's, you know, not much. You know, there's some contaminants, you know, in the traditional foods, but it's not, you know, to where it's dangerous.

I mean, you know, like they were talking about at the one time the mercury in the fish and stuff. We don't -- you know, there's a little bit, but, you know, it's not where they have to restrict, and, you know, you don't have a number, a certain number of, you know, fish that you, you know -- I guess some, you know, places like out of state and stuff you -- you know, the stuff are more contaminated --

KAREN: Yeah.

MARTINA: -- in the Big Lakes than, you know, up here.

KAREN: It sounds like a very worthwhile research.

MARTINA: Yes. And, you know, I've learned a lot from, you know, this.

KAREN: It sounds -- you've come a long way from a 20-year-old health aide to doing all this research.

MARTINA: Uh-hum. Yes, I have. And I'm proud of it.

KAREN: Good.

MARTINA: I was -- I was the first one from my village to go to college and graduate from college.
|
KAREN: That's great.

MARTINA: So. Yeah.

KAREN: That's really good.