Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
03/14/2023 08:00 AM House COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s)|| Regulatory Commission of Alaska | |
| HB78 | |
| HB30 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 78 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 30 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 78-AK COMMUNITY HEALTH AIDE APPRECIATION DAY
8:23:28 AM
CHAIR MCCORMICK announced that the next order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 78, "An Act establishing September 10 as
Alaska Community Health Aide Appreciation Day."
8:23:42 AM
CALLAN CHYTHLOOK-SIFSOF, Staff, Representative CJ McCormick,
Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative McCormick,
prime sponsor, introduced HB 78 and gave a PowerPoint
presentation, titled "HB 78 Establishing Alaska Community Health
Aide Appreciation Day" [hard copy included in the committee
packet]. She provided her background and personal connection to
the health aide community. She explained that the Community
Health Aide Program is unique to the state and was established
out of necessity, and its role is very complex. Community
health aides are often on call at all hours and are critical for
the doctors and nurses traveling to rural villages. In the
1950s, during the tuberculosis epidemic, the profession began
out of necessity to ensure medication and medical care was
received in rural communities. She pointed out that September
10 commemorates the first Planning and Advisory Committee
meeting for Health Aide Programs in Alaska. She reiterated that
community health aides are the "trust" for rural Alaska in the
medical care system, and she thanked the committee for its time.
8:29:30 AM
MS. CHYTHLOOK-SIFSOF, in response to Representative McCabe,
stated that the Community Health Aide Program (CHAP) training is
fairly extensive, consisting of weeks of training at one of four
hubs: Anchorage, Bethel, Nome, or Fairbanks. In response to a
follow-up question, she explained that the wages for aides
depend on each community, and sometimes they will not receive
pay for all the time they are on call.
8:31:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS expressed privilege to have worked for the
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium early in her career. She
stated that she was able to experience firsthand the facilities
and the care provided to communities. She expressed support for
HB 78.
8:32:28 AM
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE asked for a description of what a day
looks like for a health aide.
MS. CHYTHLOOK-SIFSOF spoke of her personal knowledge through her
mother's work as a health aide. She explained the close work
with the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO), stating that the
aide and VSPO were the primary responsibility for all crises.
She stated that aides not only provide medical attention but are
also part of the law and order in a community. Health aides are
sometimes required to go house to house if a village does not
have a clinic. This entails helping the elderly and responding
to trauma.
8:34:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT questioned whether health aides are
mandatory reporters.
CHAIR MCCORMICK deferred to invited testimony.
8:35:47 AM
JESSICA HYATT, Community Relations Advocate, Guardian Flight
Alaska, gave invited testimony in support of HB 78, on behalf of
CHAP. She explained that Guardian Flight Alaska works shoulder
to shoulder with CHAP on a daily basis. She explained Alaska
pioneered the CHAP program, and the work of the aides is
tireless and around the clock. She reiterated that September 10
is a significant date, and it should be recognized.
8:39:23 AM
CAROLYN CRAIG, PA-C, Director, Community Health Aide Program,
gave invited testimony in support of HB 78 and provided her
background. She described the CHAP program as unique, amazing,
and proven effective at providing culturally competent and
quality healthcare for remote and underserved areas throughout
Alaska. She noted that 15 weeks is the total training an aide
must complete, and this is broken down into four sessions. In
2015, a distance learning program for basic training had been
started, and this has allowed students to complete portions of
their training at home, minimizing their time away. The program
has also gained both national and international attention. She
explained that health aides deal with many hardships, which
remain unheard, and it is a "24/7" job. She thanked the
committee and offered to answer any questions.
8:45:22 AM
JENNY BROWN, Instructor, Clinical Training, Tanana Chiefs
Conference, provided a brief background, and explained her time
working with many rural and under-resourced medical providers,
compared to other parts of the state. She stated that the group
which gains the most respect are the community health aides.
She explained that the situations vary greatly from region to
region, and they provide essential medical care to the villages
without any advanced degrees. She encouraged the committee to
establish an annual Community Health Aide Recognition Day that
will remind Alaskans to acknowledge these health care providers.
8:47:53 AM
ASELA CALHOUN, PhD, Director, Yukon Kuskokwim Health
Corporation, provided a brief background and expressed
appreciation for the CHAP program and for the work of health
aides. She described her personal connections with many health
aide workers and recognized the tremendous amount of quality
work they do. She gave an overview of communities served, and a
brief breakdown of which ones also have a clinic. She
reiterated that the program has become a model that is imitated
nationwide, and she stated it is fitting that community health
aides be recognized as the pillars of health care in remote
Alaska and honored with a day of recognition.
8:52:48 AM
DR. CALHOUN continued and gave examples of survey outcomes,
noting that the program is widely described as "a very personal
and deeply held tradition for the community." She also noted
that being an aide is generational; children become aides
because their parents were aides, and so on. It is a pattern
that has been repeated multiple times. In closing, she offered
her support to dedicating a day in recognition to community
health aides. In response to the question from REPRESENTATIVE
HIMSCHOOT concerning whether health aides are mandatory
reporters, she replied that they are required like any other
health professional.
8:56:50 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:56 a.m. to 8:58 a.m.
8:58:27 AM
CHAIR MCCORMICK announced that HB 78 was held over.