After a late night of traveling, we were awoken in the morning with good news. Our presenter for our first meeting was becoming a grandmother, and therefore we got to sleep in!. The day began at 11 with a traditional Alaskan lunch at the native health center, where we ate reindeer stew and salmon with rice. We next made our way over to the traditional healing center at the south central foundation. We spent some time learning about their combination of traditional healing practices with western medicine in order to provide the best health outcome possible. We next made our way over to the south central foundation primary care center, where they presented on their Nuka. This involved calling the patient a customer owner to make them a bigger part of their care process. The care team was the continuous for each patient, which provided stability and allowed the customer owners to function at the best of their abilities, or to be as healthy as possible. We next took a tour of the Alaska Native Health Center and saw the similarities that the hospital had to hospitals in the lower 48. If anything it was more modern, clean, and patient centered than many hospitals in the lower 48. We ended the day with what we were supposed to start with, which was a presentation from a traditional healer, or shaman. This was the most eye opening part of day 1. It began with a history lesson of Alaska, but told from the eyes of the natives, not white people. We then learned about how the natives use plants and relaxation to promote healing.The session ended with a demonstration of her healing powers paired with her showing how to talk to the spirit world. This day was extremely eye opening and gave insight into the many different aspects of healthcare in Alaska.
The next day we made a day trip to Dallas Seavy's dog sledding training grounds. We had a meet and greet with a ton of the most friendly dogs in the world, and then took a tour around the grounds on a sled. It was an amazing look into something I had heard a ton about, but never had the chance to actually do. Both the sledding and the education all day Friday were valuable looks into the life of Alaskans.
The next day we made a day trip to Dallas Seavy's dog sledding training grounds. We had a meet and greet with a ton of the most friendly dogs in the world, and then took a tour around the grounds on a sled. It was an amazing look into something I had heard a ton about, but never had the chance to actually do. Both the sledding and the education all day Friday were valuable looks into the life of Alaskans.