Thursday, May 11, 2006
170. Medical care
There is a medical clinic here, where you can go if you feel the need. The people who work there will take the information and send it to the medical center in Kotzebue.
In case of an emergency, Kotebue keeps a helicopter ready to go out to any bush village. (That would probably not take any longer to get to you than an ambulance in Manhattan dealing with gridlock.)
A doctor makes the round of the villages, giving checkups. There is a dentist that also comes out sometimes. A veterinarian comes to Kotebue once a year.
Some health workers came out to Deering to have a health fair. One guy had a display about smoking - it included two sets of pig lungs, one from a pig who did not smoke and one from a pig that was exposed to a lot of cigarettes - and you could see how much healthier the clean lungs looked and how much better they expanded. They took people's blood for testing, but couldn't get any out of me. They also had door prizes - I won a clock radio, and the grand prize was 50 gallons of heating oil.
For major medical care, you still need to go to Anchorage.
In case of an emergency, Kotebue keeps a helicopter ready to go out to any bush village. (That would probably not take any longer to get to you than an ambulance in Manhattan dealing with gridlock.)
A doctor makes the round of the villages, giving checkups. There is a dentist that also comes out sometimes. A veterinarian comes to Kotebue once a year.
Some health workers came out to Deering to have a health fair. One guy had a display about smoking - it included two sets of pig lungs, one from a pig who did not smoke and one from a pig that was exposed to a lot of cigarettes - and you could see how much healthier the clean lungs looked and how much better they expanded. They took people's blood for testing, but couldn't get any out of me. They also had door prizes - I won a clock radio, and the grand prize was 50 gallons of heating oil.
For major medical care, you still need to go to Anchorage.
# posted by Amy W. : 12:47 PM
