You know you’ve found the career that was meant for you when you feel driven to follow it not once, but twice. So it is with Joanne Beck, who was the Eagle Village Health Aide from 1990 to 1999, and then again from 2021 to now.
For Joanne, born in Tanana but raised in Eagle Village, health care could be called the family business. Her mother, aunt, and a cousin have all been health aides, and after a few career detours, Joanne joined them by becoming a health aide for Tanana Chiefs in 1990. Only in her 20s, she had already worked as an alcohol counselor for five years, and was ready for a change. When the health aide position in Eagle Village opened, Joanne made the leap, providing care to the people of her home village for the next decade.
While many people drop out of the intensive book learning and hands-on client contact required of students before they graduate the training program, Joanne found the challenge invigorating. Once she was back home, she understood even more why various family members had been drawn to a job where you are able to help the people you grew up around. It was a gift to be able to offer help and healing when people were the most vulnerable. Even though there was sorrow when someone received a terminal diagnosis, Joanne was still able to make their remaining time easier.
Busy with her job, she nonetheless managed to earn her A.A.S. in community health during those years. However, Joanne eventually began feeling the stress that she’d seen in her mother’s face years before, when she had been a health aide. It would not help anyone to stay when she was worn out, so in 1999, Joanne left her position and became the tribal administrator. She was working for the village when the terrible flood of 2006 hit, wiping out the entire village and forcing it to move to higher ground. Even though the new location had a soil structure that finally allowed the village to put in running water and a septic system, picking up and moving to new homes was hard on the entire town. Joanne decided she needed a break and that it was the perfect time for her to go off to college.
In 2011, she graduated from UAF with an AAS in culinary arts. For the next 13 years she worked as a chef at the Kantishna Roadhouse, the Doyon resort located in Denali National Park, as well as at Doyon’s location up north. During the winter off-season, she was a residential aide in the Fairbanks Native Association’s live-in alcohol treatment program, eventually becoming the head cook for the facility.
Ten years later, Joanne decided it was time to go home. She missed the life in a small remote village and her mother was now almost 80 but still healthy; Joanne wanted to spend time with her mother while they could still do activities together. As it happened, the health aide position was open again, so soon Joanne was back in the health field.
It was not exactly the same job she’d left. Computers were now a part of almost every action, from client casefiles and administrative paperwork to the very equipment used to diagnose and treat people. As Joanne says, “It seems like the stethoscope is the only thing left not run by a computer!” Telemedicine means that Joanne can collaborate with a physician in Fairbanks, whether for a medical emergency or a simple case discussion. It also means she has instant access to the latest medical research and information. A lifelong lover of learning, she welcomes the opportunities she has for keeping her skills sharp so that she is, as she says, “Up on my game.”
The fancy bells and whistles has not changed the essential job, however. As it had been the first time Joanne was a health aide about 25 years ago, one of the most gratifying parts is, “Having people trust me. I ask a lot of delicate questions and I assure my patients that what goes on here will not go beyond the door.” It is humbling, and something Joanne does not take for granted.
When not working, she enjoys the outdoors. Fishing for grayling or berry picking, usually with her mother, and landscaping her yard are Joanne’s main activities. She has planted crab apple trees and lilac bushes and is slowly clearing a spot for a garden. Being outdoors and leaning on her religion are the main ways she deals with the stress of the job.
She does not see leaving her job anytime soon, but she does dream of writing a series of children’s books. The stories told to her by her grandmother, Louise Paul, were how the traditions and morals of her culture were passed on to Joanne. She would like to do the same for today’s young children, but in books so that they can reach children who have grown up in the urban areas, with little contact with village life or full immersion in their culture. For now, though, Joanne is glad to be back living in the place she loves, doing the job she has always enjoyed.
Stephannie Christian, Joanne’s supervisor, feels fortunate that Joanne is happy in her job and had this to say about her: “Joanne is wonderful to work with. Her love for her community is evident in all that she does. Eagle is lucky to have such a competent and caring person in the Health Aide position.”