Talking to Sharon Demoski to get the information to write this profile about her was like being given a shot of enthusiasm and energy. Throughout our conversation, it was clear that fifteen years as a health aide, mostly in her home village of Nulato but sometimes as an itinerant, has not dimmed her passion for her work.
It was not a straight path. She had been interested in the health field as far back as high school, and in the late 1980’s she became a health aide. However, six months into the position she realized she was not ready for the responsibility, so she left and came back in 2007, after gaining more employment and life experience. This time it was the right time.
“I love it. I love being able to help my community, even the people who complain about us. I love, really love, the fact that I learn new things almost every single day. I love watching the EMTs when they come here to get a patient, because I am always picking up tips from them. I cannot thank my two awesome co-workers enough: Martina Ekata and Sharon Agnes, who make the work easier and have taught me so much.”
“And I want to be sure to mention the CHAP employees and instructors. I am so thankful for how they go out of their way to help the health aides. Those instructors will go all the way with you, even if it means they have to do one-on-one work with you to help you understand something.”
There have been many changes over the years, but Sharon is especially grateful for two of them. The first is that the information that used to be contained in three giant books she had to lug around, one for medications and one for diagnoses and one general reference book, have all been transferred to a lightweight iPad. The second is that health aides no longer function as travel agents. These days a CHAP program employee in Fairbanks figures out the details of flights, hotel reservations, food, and taxies for patients who must fly into Fairbanks or Anchorage.
When she is not working, Sharon can be found beading, berry picking, or snow machining. This last winter she took up crocheting, something she used to watch her late mother do. She also likes to travel, but only for limited time periods. One of the hardest aspects of coming back to being a health aide was that three of the four training sessions, each of them four weeks long, were held in Anchorage. “I did not like leaving home and my four children for that long and I don’t really like cities. I remember crying that first night in Anchorage because I was missing my children and I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. I owe and I am so thankful for the love and support I got from my mother; she was the backbone of me going into the health field. She was the one who took care of the children while I was away. The fourth session was held in Sitka, which was better not only because it was smaller but because my oldest daughter was there completing her senior year at Mt. Edgecumbe High School.”
One of Sharon’s personal missions is to encourage others to become health aides. She talks up the job whenever she has the opportunity. She wants people to understand that learning the skills to help others when they are most vulnerable is very rewarding, and that the job offers excellent pay and benefits, plus it gives you the opportunity to meet and often become friends with a huge variety of colleagues. And though some may be intimidated by the amount of training required, she wants to reassure them that the instructors and other students will support them all the way. “The work is great, TCC is a good employer and I have made life-long friends.” Not many jobs can offer all that.
“Fifteen years this coming January, and I still love it,” she says in her cheerful fashion.
By Linden Staciokas