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Marge Adams

Marge Adams

Marge Adams was born in Yakutat, Alaska in 1932 and graduated from the Catholic Mission high school in Skagway, Alaska. She married George Adams, raised six children, and became a community health aide in Yakutat in the mid-1970s. Marge went on to Physician's Assistant training in New Mexico, and was health aide coordinator for the Cook Inlet Native Association in Anchorage, and the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium in Sitka.
Marge Adams appears in the following new Jukebox projects:
Interview Title Abstract Archive #: Oral History Project Date of Interview
Marge Adams, Part 1

Marge Adams was interviewed on May 28, 2006 by Karen Brewster at Marge's home in Yakutat, Alaska. In this first part of a three part interview, Marge talks about the early role of the Yakutat Health Council, health aide experiences and training, the beginnings of the Community Health Aide Program in Alaska, and organizations that managed the health aide program in Yakutat. Marge speaks critically and honestly about difficulties with and opinions about co-workers, supervisors, and administrative organizations. This interview was conducted in the apartment in Yakutat where Marge lived with her son, Danny, so there is some background noise during the interview.

 2004-17-30, Part 1 Community Health Aide Program May 28, 2006
Marge Adams, Part 2

This is the continuation of an interview with Marge Adams on May 28, 2006 by Karen Brewster at Marge's home in Yakutat, Alaska. In this second part of a three part interview, Marge talks about attending physician's assistant training in New Mexico, opening a clinic in Anchorage for the Cook Inlet Native Association, managing the community health representative and health aide program, and being health aide coordinator for Cook Inlet Native Association and for Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) in Sitka, Alaska.

 2004-17-30_PT.2 Community Health Aide Program May 28, 2006
Marge Adams, Part 3

This is the continuation of an interview with Marge Adams on May 28, 2006 by Karen Brewster at Marge's home in Yakutat, Alaska. In this third part of a three part interview, Marge talks about the formation of the Southeast Alaska Health Board and the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), why she became a health aid, and the dedication of all the health aides she worked with. Marge also talks about difficulties she had as the health aid coordinator for SEARHC, including communication with doctors, lack of funds for ordering supplies and equipment, and dealing with a variety of rules and regulations. Marge also discusses the joys of being a health aide, delivering her first baby, helping with emergencies, the challenges of balancing work with raising her own family, and the lack of racism she felt as a Native person working in a mostly non-Native atmosphere. Finally, she offers some advice for young people who might be considering a career as a health aide.

 2004-17-30_PT.3 Community Health Aide Program May 28, 2006