Many of us fumble around trying to find a career that pays enough and makes us feel useful. Not Health Aide Kimberly Ulery, who works for Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) as an itinerant assigned to Nenana.
Born and raised in Nenana, Kimberly was just 16 years old when she earned her Emergency Trauma Technician (ETT) certificate and began volunteering for the Nenana Fire Department. As soon as she turned 18, the minimum age required to become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), she achieved that ranking. Around that time, Kimberly moved from Nenana to Tyonek, where she had two children. Soon after voluntarily stepping in to help with an accident, various Tribal members discovered that she was an EMT, and they suggested she apply for their open health aide position.
The health aide certification program for that part of the state is run through the Southcentral Foundation, the Alaska Native-owned, nonprofit health care organization that serves Alaska Natives and American Indians who live in Anchorage and nearby villages. After passing the course, Kimberly spent the next five years as the Tyonek health aide, until she and her family decided to move back to her hometown of Nenana. She remained an itinerant health aide for Southcentral Foundation until 2024. Eventually she decided to switch to working as a health aide for TCC, since they oversaw the Nenana Clinic. Kimberly had to complete a special course to make sure her knowledge and methods were the same as those taught by the TCC program, in order to be one of their certified health aides. She passed and has been working in Nenana since 2024, although she also has been sent to other Interior villages as needed.
She may have gone from working for Southcentral to TCC, but Kimberly’s dedication to her health career has only increased since those early days of being a teenager volunteering for the Nenana Fire department. As she says, “I have always aspired to help people, and when we are in a medical emergency, we are all at our most vulnerable. It is a great joy to me to have the knowledge and skill set to bring a sense of calm to an emergency and help someone.” One of the hardest, yet most rewarding aspects of the job is when “the little ones are undergoing a trauma, and I can help the child and family get through it.”
Dealing with the pain of others takes a toll on first responders. Kimberly says that one of the things that has changed about being a health aide is the recognition that burn out is a very real issue. TCC’s health aide program has instituted practices that support the mental health of their health aides. Everyone now recognizes that being a health aide is more than a job; it is a lifestyle. “You have to be mindful of your social interactions, if you are going to get people to trust you professionally. You have to limit your social interactions so that you are not seen as being out of control or behaving indiscreetly. That may not seem fair that you are always being watched, but it is something you take on with the job. You want people to trust you, so you have to behave in a trustworthy fashion.”
Kimberly is a “natural born homebody,” which is an asset. “My social circle is small and right now it consists mostly of my family; I have four girls from the ages of two to eight. We like to travel but when we are home, we do things like work outside berry picking or gardening. Indoors we play games, especially card games. One way I decompress from job stress is to play video games when my kids have gone to bed. I am an avid gamer, and a lot of my social needs are met through my interactions with other gamers.”
She finds herself constantly encouraging others to consider the health aide field. “The compensation is good, the job is intellectually interesting, and it is emotionally very satisfying to help others. I tell people to try becoming an ETT if they want to just get a small taste of what they will be facing; they don’t have to make a full-blown commitment to being a health aide right away. I was very lucky that I received constant encouraging and mentoring by the entire Nenana Fire Department when I started out. They all were a part of my success.” She hopes to be part of someone else’s success in the same way.