Tribal Healthcare and the role of Public Health Nursing in Alaska
Valerie Nurr’araaluk Davidson, Lorne Caroll BSN, RN, PHN III, & Evelina Achee BSN, RN, PHN IV
Season 04 - 02 (Special Episode)
Tribal Healthcare and the role of Public Health Nursing in Alaska
It’s been 11 years since I visited the great state of Alaska. But, I feel very naive as I never really thought about the challenges the people of this state, so rich in history and tradition, faced! This special episode of the RN-Mentor podcast was especially eye opening for me. As an individual with interest in indigenous and native populations it was mind boggling communities would be denied basic infrastructure for basic needs such as clean running water due to cost, lack of health services, due to geographical locations, and the logistical incredible logistical barriers faced by the tribes and communities in Alaska. However, there are incredible people and nurses fighting the odds and overcoming the challenges, and working toward keeping the population of Alaska healthy. This is public health in Alaska, this is their story…
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for opportunities to work as a Public Health Nurse in this incredible state!
Valerie Nurr’araaluk Davidson
Valerie Nurr’araaluk Davidson is president of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), a statewide tribal health organization that serves all 229 Tribes and all Alaska Native and American Indian people in Alaska. ANTHC provides comprehensive medical services, wellness programs, disease research and prevention, rural provider training and rural water and sanitation systems construction.
Davidson is Yup’ik and an enrolled Tribal citizen of the Orutsararmiut Traditional Native Council. Davidson previously served as the 12th President of the Alaska Pacific University, it’s first female president. She joined the university after a distinguished career in healthcare administration, policy, governance and advocacy.
In 2018, she became the first Alaska Native woman to serve as Alaska’s Lieutenant Governor, after previously serving as Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health & Social Services, where she implemented Medicaid Expansion, Medicaid Reform and the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact. Through her education and commitment to Native peoples and the state of Alaska, she has advanced a collective and holistic approach to self-governance and the well-being of all Alaskans.
Lorne Carroll BSN, RN, PHN III
Lorne Carroll grew up south of Kansas City, Missouri, and spent much of his childhood riding his bike on gravel roads, exploring the woods, and spending chunks of summer on his grandparents’ farm. Rural life set the stage for his connection to natural surroundings, family, neighbors, and friends. He started his professional healthcare journey in 1997 as a Firefighter/EMT, then entered Public Health Nursing in 2004 after receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in 2002. After a stent of international travel and home remodeling in Kansas City he settled into his first Public Health Nursing position with the Kansas City Health Department in Missouri. While not born in Alaska he arrived as soon as he could in 2009. Thanks to a job offer from Norton Sound Health Corporation Lorne settled back into patterns of connection with neighbors, friends, and the natural environment as a Tuberculosis Nurse Consultant for the Tribal healthcare system. For several years he lived 13 miles north of Nome, Alaska, in a small cabin without running water or electricity near Bear Mountain. These days you can find Lorne in Homer working as a Public Health Nurse for the State of Alaska or just outside of Homer walking the 1.6-mile trail into his cabin where he lives with Toots (his cat). He is a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Fellow in the Master of Public Health Program. Lorne is particularly motivated to learn more about how things like a zip code and the natural surrounding might pave the way for individuals, families, and communities to reach their full potential.
Evelina Achee BSN, RN, PHN IV
Evelina Ache grew up in Nunapitchuk and moved to Bethel where she has been living for over 30 years. A graduate from an ADN program in Bethel through the community college and began her career at YKHC. Knowing at some point she would want to become a PHN and and provide services not only to individuals but to families, community populations she learned about system based PHN services.
Inspired and mentored by a nurse managers to apply for the PHN Nurse I/II position she eventually applied to the Bethel Public Health center. This position was a ADN bridge program, earning her a BSN attaining her BSN from Western Governors online program.
A PHN since September of 2012 she now serves as a manager for her small but mighty Bethel team.
