Rolling Tundra Review, Episode 2 Life is so full I hardly know where to begin! I’ve really only seen a few patients, but have had time to work on policy and procedures, collaborating with the other full time provider, Katie, and others on learning and trying to implement the advanced features of the medical records program, and trying to get ready to begin taking call 24/7 for 3 weeks starting tomorrow. This particular electronic medical record (EMR for short, although we have other names for it too) is much simpler than the one I’ve been using for the last 2 years, but as with all of them, it has flaws and frustrations, reduces clinician’s productivity, and shifts an awful lot of administrative stuff to the providers (physicians, PAs, Nurse practitioners). But the atmosphere and management at Camai are such a breath of fresh air for me! It’s small enough, and we have the right kind of manager, that everyone participates in many of the decisions and are encouraged to take ownership and figure out the best ways to take good care of people. The clinic director, Steve, is not a medical person and he told me that if I needed managing, this probably wasn’t the right job for me! Right on—I’m more than willing to take responsibility in exchange for having some autonomy and not being micromanaged. Bush (not George) Alaska is like that anyway; stay down to earth, use what you have, and don’t stand too much on ceremony. Here's a cool old building downtown that people are trying to buy for a museum.

In rural Idaho you often see a bunch of cars and trucks parked around people's places, but here you see a bunch of boats.

Both Katie and Linda, our medical assistant, are going on vacation tomorrow leaving the clinic in my somewhat shaky hands, but I have a great bunch of people to work with. There is Nattie, who is a local and has been a PA for around 30 years. And there is Challane, who has been learning the ropes from Linda. There is a new paramedic right next door in the bunkhouse, Bart, who is more than willing to lend a hand in emergencies. Jill is an RN who works one week a month in the pediatric oncology department in Anchorage, and is helping with EMR and also will lend a hand in emergencies. And then there are the front desk, billing, and general all-around Jills of all trades, Samantha, Amanda, Kelsey, Rebecca, and office manager Sharon. Who also owns a gift shop in King Salmon that I visited last weekend and spent too much money at! Next door was the Katmai National Park Visitor’s Center, where I spent a good hour and a half looking at all the exhibits, browsing through the brochures, talking with Debbie who has been out here for around 30 years, and spending MORE money on books! I didn’t know until having dinner with Kelsey, who worked all this past season at Katmai, that this is the place that Timothy Treadwell got eaten at! You may have seen the documentary “Grizzly Man.” Kelsey knows many of the people who knew him and were part of the sad aftermath of shooting the two bears involved and recovering what they could of Timothy’s and his girlfriend’s bodies. You can fly into Brooks Camp from King Salmon and stay in a lodge there, and watch the brown bears at the falls and in the rivers catching salmon. Brown bears and grizzlies are the same species, but they are called grizzlies inland and brown bears out here on the coast. Apparently there is a subspecies on Kodiak Island. Right now the bears are all sleeping in dens, and hopefully the warm weather and lack of snow won’t wake them up too early! On the way home from King Salmon I stopped and walked around the small cemetery. Some of the wooden crosses are hand painted with people’s names and dates. It’s obviously a well-tended place. The graves were as unique and individual as the people are here. The high point of my week was today after work when Steve’s son in law, Troy Hamon, took me out flying in his small Piper something or other airplane and gave me a tour of the Naknek area!

I have never been in a plane THAT small, and it was a blast! My pictures aren’t that great, but we flew over some abandoned canneries, up the Kvichak river a ways, over Naknek and then over South Naknek.

We also flew up the Naknek river, and saw some beluga whales, which I didn’t get a picture of. But I did get a picture of one on Saturday afternoon from the Port docks, and watched them feeding in the river until it got too cold (for me—they kept on feeding.)

Those white spots in the water are genuine beluga whales coming up for air. Yes they are! I also tried to take pictures of the seals, but they kept playing hide and seek, so I got a lot of pictures of empty water. Here’s a picture of my little cabin from the front door.

Grocery shopping is heart stopping here! It’s really making me try to make wise choices—a regular size bag of chips is $10.00. Nope, don’t like chips that much! Half gallon of milk for my lattes is $6.99, which I MUST have. Broccoli, $5.99 per pound. Eggs, $7.00 a dozen, but at least those are Linda’s good homegrown eggs, because they aren’t any cheaper at the store. This week I get my first delivery of my Full Circle Farms produce box, and I can’t wait! $57 a week for fresh vegetables is pretty darn good. My boss, Steve, also generously gave me about 4 sockeye salmon steaks, a big package of smoked salmon, and some mooseburger. What a difference the freshness makes! The fish was vacuum packed and frozen about 4 hours after it was picked out of the set net. He says I can come help during the fishing season and have some of the fish. I have to double check to see if the regulations say that non-permitted people just can’t touch the NET, or can’t touch the fish at all until it’s gutted and taken care of. After I’ve been here a year and am a bonafide Alaska resident, I can get my own subsistence permit. I already have a permit from the village tribal government to camp and pick berries on their land. Next Saturday is Winterfest, which apparently consists of various activities that will be more difficult without the river being iced over, but will also have a bazaar with craft items, etc. I will be at the Camai booth part of the time, maybe taking a blood pressure or two. Later, after fishing season I think, we’ll have Fishtival. Kelsey says there’s a festival every time you turn around. I miss all my friends and family and my dogs, but I’m really enjoying being up here! Stay tuned for more.