Nolita Madros

H2004-17-22

slideshow

click here for transcript

Nolita Madros was born on May 3, 1963 in Kaltag. Her father, George Madros, was a carpenter and her mother, Anne, was a community health aide. Nolita grew up watching her mother work on patients in their home, at other people's houses and knew the amount of work that was involved with being a health aide. She remembers the little cabinet in her house that was full of the medicine her mother used to treat patients. Nolita started out working as a carpenter (eventually working with her father), but after she had her son she could not go out on crew anymore. In 1992, she became a Community Health Representative (CHR) in Huslia. After a few years, she became a health aide in Ruby and began her training. She spent six years in Ruby before becoming an itinerant health aide, traveling all over the North Slope Borough. She came to Anaktuvuk Pass as an itinerant in 2004 and has stayed as a regular health aide. The clinic was based out of her home for about eleven months while the clinic building was being renovated. The new clinic has three exams rooms. She is constantly busy and on her toes because at the time of the interview she was the only health aide for the village.

Click on a section below to access the audio.

Nolita Madros talks with Marla Statscewich on October 26, 2005 at the clinic in Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska about...

1) Background about her family and growing up.
Madros, Sr., George\ Madros, Anna\ health aide -- mother\ Kaltag\ siblings -- number of\ children\ childhood\ clinic -- home\ medicine cabinet -- description of\ emergencies -- assisting with\ Madros, Georgianna\ mother -- role model\ health care\ high school\ Job Corps\ carpentry -- learning\ father -- carpenter\ son -- birth of\ job -- carpenter\ work -- impossible\ Huslia\ health aide -- CHR\ elders -- check -ups\ medicine\ wood\ Burroughs, Roseanne\ Ruby -- transfer to\ CHP\ learning|

2) Her transition into a career as a health aide and her first training, and the importance of babysitters.
job -- health aide\ job -- transition\ CHR -- community health representative\ CHP -- community health practitioner\ CHA -- community health aide\ training -- sessions\ training -- type\ training -- schedule\ training -- sessions\ training -- location\ Seward\ blood pressure\ vital signs\ skills -- emergency\ suturing\ IV -- insertion\ training -- duration of\ training -- centers\ Nome\ Bethel\ Seward\ Sitka\ Fairbanks\ Ruby -- friends\ son -- babysitter\ Captain, Linda\ Captain, Butch\ babysitter -- importance of\ job -- balance\ family|

3) Her early experiences as a health aide and where the work took her.
health aide -- early\ mentor\ Peters, Edna\ health aide -- training\ Ruby\ job -- on-call\ Community Health Aide Manual -- CHAM\ manual -- white\ doctor -- communication with\ emergency -- first\ cut -- treatment\ cut -- suturing\ James, Dr. William\  CHAM -- use of\ bleeding\ Kaltag -- health aide\ home -- working\ home -- rest\ availability -- degree of\ North Slope\ sunlight -- duration of\ work -- itinerant\ Nuiqsut\ clinic -- use of\ appointments -- schedule\ patients -- number of\ doctor\ nurse\ dentist\ staff\ CHAP\ visits -- duration of\ village -- need|

4) What it was like working as an itinerant community health aide and what it was like working for different health corporations.
community health aide program\ Barrow\ North Slope Borough\ Tanana Chief's Conference (TCC)\ job -- wages\ wages -- differences\ living -- cost of\ chapters\ clinic -- size of\ clinic -- Anaktuvuk Pass\ clinic -- TCC\ clinic -- Galena\ Kaltag\ Nulato\ Ruby\ Huslia\ exam rooms -- number of\ apartments -- itinerant\ job -- on-call\ Nuiqsut\ job -- schedule\ hours -- length\ illnesses -- new\ procedures\ labs\ learning -- itinerant|

5) Being a community coordinator instructor and how she ended up settling down in Anaktuvuk Pass. 
villages\ Point Lay\ Point Hope\ Wainwright\ Ataqsuk\ Kaktovik\ North Slope Borough\ community coordinator instructor (CI) -- role of\ Nuiqsut\ Anaktuvuk Pass\ visits -- CI\ training -- education hours\ PCCs\ patients -- medical history\ patients -- knowledge of\ charts -- review of\ appointments -- rate of\ critical care\ Anaktuvuk Pass -- CI\ scenery -- beauty of\ air carrier -- Warbelow's\ Kaltag -- transport to\ North Slope\ Fairbanks\ travel -- overnight\ culture -- differences\ discrimination\ community -- acceptance from\ language\ elders\ Inupiaq\ Ahgook, Alice -- CHR\ interpreter\ English|

6) The newly remodeled clinic in Anaktuvuk Pass and how much she appreciates the ambulance service there.
clinic -- new\ clinic -- construction of\ clinic -- moving in\ housing unit\ clinic -- temporary\ clinic -- asbestos\ clinic -- remodel\ Tagiugmiullu Nunamiullu Housing Authority (TNHA) -- negotiations\ residence -- clinic\ medical records\ emergency room\ lab\ equipment\ transport -- emergency\ ambulance\ villages -- North Slope Borough\ fire department\ EMTs\ training -- schedule\ training -- quality of\ fire crew\ patient -- transportation of\ visits -- home\ transportation -- volunteers\ transportation -- vehicle\ transportation -- gurney|

7) Some of the details of her job, such as how much vacation time she gets, who she works with, which parts she enjoys, and where the money and services come from.
co-workers\ Yardey, Eric -- maintenance/custodian\ Ahgook, Alice -- CHR\ Hugo, Harry -- driver\ Murphy, Ron -- itinerant\ health aide -- schedule\ health -- subsitute\ vacation\ vacation -- frequency of\ rest\ babies -- delivery of\ delivery -- location of\ suturing\ lab -- tests\ labs -- blood\ finger sticks -- glucose\ labs -- urine\ health aide -- duties of\ job -- difficulties\ communication -- radio\ transportation -- availability of\ air ambulance -- Warbelow's\ Fairbanks\ TCC\ baby -- pre-mature\ air ambulance -- Guardian\ equipment -- incubator\ contracts\ Barrow -- services\ Chief Andrew Isaac Clinic\ TCC\ Point Hope\ Maniilaq Corporation\ Kotzebue\ health care -- services|

8) How she maintains her qualifications as a health aide, especially how she works with other health providers like doctors and nurse practitioners.
North Slope Borough (NSB)\ health aide -- itinerant\ communities -- comfort in\ job -- difficulties of\ health aides -- number of\ CHAP\ TCC\ job -- hiring\ corporations\ transition\ memorandum of agreement\ communication -- doctors\ Chief Andrew Isaac Clinic\ Fairbanks\ doctor -- vacation\ calls -- routine\ medical traffic\ Springer, Dr.?\ prescriptions\ questions\ advice -- medical\ patient -- transportation\ emergency\ training -- continuing\ health aide -- certification\ health aide -- training\ training -- Continuing Medical Education\ re-certification -- EMT 1\ care -- clinical\ course work -- diabetes\ certification -- travel\ nurse practitioner\ physician's assistant\ visits -- frequency\ guidance\ doctor -- visits\ CHAP office -- leave time\ doctor -- role of\ patients -- appointments\ health aide -- consultation with\ follow-ups\ labs|

9) Some of the changes she has seen over the course of her career, especially in the realm of technology.
career -- changes\ equipment -- changes\ fax machine\ technology\ computer\ telemedicine\ Wainwright\ Nuiqsut\ Gonzales, Dr.?\ Smith, Dr.?\ e-mail\ doctors -- resistance from\ rashes -- images of\ Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC)\ cameras\ EKG\ Point Hope\ telemedicine -- effectiveness\ Maniilaq Corporation\ health aides -- training\ doctor -- Kotzebue\ medevac\ doctor -- instructions\ telehealth|

10) The benefits of telemedicine, and dealing with emergency situations and transportation of patients.
telemedicine\ Point Hope\ providers -- data entry\ pictures\ telemedicine -- benefits of\ EKG\ fax\ e-mail\ patient -- transportation\ medevac -- arrangements\ travel -- urgent\ travel -- arrangements for\ Warbelow's Air Ambulance\ Samuel Simmonds Hospital -- Barrow\ North Slope Borough -- Search and Rescue\ emergencies -- travel\ clinics -- differences\ TCC\ NSB\ city limits -- ambulance|

11) Dealing with issues of confidentiality in a small village, and the emotional stress of treating friends and loved ones in emergency situations.
confidentiality\ patient -- protection of\ clinic -- at home\ voice -- volume of\ voice -- carrying\ building -- ventilation system (Vanee ducts)\ TV -- volume of\ son -- presence of\ job -- importance of\ family -- socializing\ family -- seperation of\ clinic -- visiting\ village -- emergencies\ acquaintances -- caring for\ feelings -- separation from\ focus\ stress -- relief of\ projects -- sewing\ tension -- relief of\ son -- injury\ bicycle\ helmet\ safety gear -- removal of\ injury -- head\ injury -- road rash\ face -- laceration\ stitches\ emotions -- crying\ ambulance\ road rash -- treatment|

12) She compares her experience to that of health aides who came before her, like her mother.
health aide -- experience\ mentors\ mother -- health aide\ nurses\ hospital -- visit\ airplanes -- space on\ bed -- crib\ mother -- example\ transportation -- immediacy of\ medevac\ stresses\ honeybuckets\ toilets -- flush\ water -- hauling\ hands -- washing\ faucets\ facilities -- modern\ lights -- electricity\ lanterns -- kerosene\ experience -- quality of\ radio traffic -- memories of\ radio -- location of\ HAM radio\ Tanana\ CHAP -- preparation for\ wound -- suturing\ blood\ injuries -- head|

13) Closing reflections on her work as a health aide, and on her career and education plans.
health aide -- experience\ health aide -- meaning of\ adventure\ health aides -- traveling\ learning\ training -- continuing\ paramedic -- training\ parenting\ school -- education\ son -- education of\ paramedic -- sponsor\ paramedic -- air ambulance\ travel\ people -- names of\ chart numbers -- memory of\ school -- Physician's Assistant\ family nurse practitioner\ sponsor -- doctor\ Samuel Simmonds Hospital\ North Slope Borough -- hiring\ Chief Andrew Isaac Clinic\ Fairbanks\ program -- nursing\ education -- assistance\ health aides -- characteristics of|