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Hear Me Now Stories - Alaska

Hear Me Now is a partnership with the the Institute for Human Caring and StoryCorps to record interviews with patients, family and caregivers. Storytelling and listening have proven clinical value, and are keys to whole person care, which addresses emotional, spiritual, and psychosocial comfort, as well as medical needs of the people we serve.

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Creating community

Jan 20, 2022
Michelle Holloway

Michelle and a few of her colleagues in long-term care decided they needed to change the culture and quality of life for the residents of their skilled nursing facility. In their search for ideas, they turned to Dr. Bill Thomas’ “The Green House Project,” a non-profit organization dedicated to creating alternative living environments to traditional nursing home care facilities. The first changes they implemented were to create a sense of community among residents and staff, and to give the residents autonomy to make choices that effect their daily lives. Edit credit: Sean Collins

Black during a pandemic (Part 1)

Apr 14, 2021
Theresa, Rachel, & Joel Bervell

Did Theresa Bervell’s cousin die of COVID-19 because he was Black? Why were Black people four times more likely to die from COVID than white people? In this first segment of a four-part series, a medical family explores racism and systemic inequities in healthcare following their painful, personal loss. Theresa, a matriarch and doctor, wonders if an ambulance would have arrived sooner had her ailing cousin not been Black. Her daughter, Rachel, who’s also a doctor, and her son, Joel, a medical student, help begin to find answers and solutions. Edit credit: Sean Collins

Black during a pandemic (Part 2)

Apr 14, 2021
Theresa, Rachel, & Joel Bervell

Theresa Bervell wonders why there are health disparities in Black communities. In this second of a four-part series examining inequities in healthcare, her daughter, Rachel, notes that Black people are less likely to have health insurance than are whites, and there are relatively fewer hospitals in Black communities. Why is that and what can be done? Edit credit: Sean Collins

Black during a pandemic (Part 3)

Apr 14, 2021
Theresa, Rachel, & Joel Bervell

Joel Bervell, a medical student, observes that Black people disproportionately serve in essential, yet low-paying jobs such as bus drivers, janitorial workers, fast-food employees, grocery clerks – jobs that put them in contact with the public and thus at greater risk for infection from the pandemic. In this third installment of a four-part series examining inequities in healthcare, the Bervell family examines the medical profession’s role in systemic disparities. Edit credit: Sean Collins

Black during a pandemic (Part 4)

Apr 14, 2021
Theresa, Rachel, & Joel Bervell

The U.S. government conducted a 40-year experiment of syphilis on hundreds of unsuspecting Black men. The so-called Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment ended in 1972 after a leak to the press. Yet fallout from that unethical study has contributed to deep mistrust of the healthcare system among Black people, and hinders public-health initiatives such as vaccinations. In this final installment of a four-part series examining inequities in healthcare, the Bervell family offers prescriptions for fixing racial disparities in medicine. Edit credit: Sean Collins

Paradise lost

Nov 17, 2020
Willie Hensley & Angela Marith

Willie, a native Alaskan Iñupiaq, speaks with Angela about how the influx of Russians, Western Europeans and Americans into Alaska has had on their culture, health and livelihood. Outsiders unintentionally brought diseases, decimating much of the native Alaskan populations. They also had much of their spirituality and livelihood stripped from them. Edit credit: Mike Addis

Beating the odds

Aug 5, 2020
Jim Walsh & Carole Anderson

In 2009 John, a writer, was officially diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and given less than five years to live. Ten years on he shares with his friend, Carole, the story of his diagnosis and how he embraces life, which helps him beat the odds. Edit credit: Mike Addis

East meets West

Jun 6, 2019
By Thao & Elijah Carricaburu

By Thao is Hmong and the mother of a young child who was often sick as a baby. She recounts with friend Elijah Carricaburu how her family urged her to stick to traditional, spiritual Eastern healing practices. But when Western medicine provided a physical cure, the family eventually accepted that there is room for both traditional and modern approaches to illness. Edit credit: Sean Collins

Violin Victoria

Jun 6, 2019
Lily SlatonBarker & Rena Queja

Lily SlatonBarker is a humble, budding violin virtuoso brimming with charm and youthful exuberance. She shares with friend Rena Queja her musical journey – from the first time she picked up the instrument, to when she won a concerto competition. Edit credit: Sean Collins

A century of memories

Feb 11, 2019
Ruth Ehrlich & Judith Renwick

Ruth Ehrlich, who is 103, shares memories with her daughter Judith Renwick. She remembers seeing cars for the first time, working as a social worker in New York during the Depression and meeting her husband at a party where she mistook him for a bellboy.
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