Dr. Lee Schmidt

Dr. Lee Schmidt came to Bethel, Alaska in 1965 where he served as a commissioned medical officer with the Indian Health Service until 1968. He worked with health aides on village visits and through radio calls. He trusted them as excellent observers and liaisons. After a pediatric residency in Oregon, he relocated to Mount Edgecumbe Hospital in Sitka and became the chief of the Community Health Services department. He oversaw health aides in southeastern Alaska, facilitated funding, and coordinated training. He advocated salary increases, recognition of, and incentives for health aides. He retired from the Indian Health Service in the mid-1990s and then worked for the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) in Sitka with their substance abuse program until he retired around 2000.