BSNC congratulates shareholder Elizabeth Aarons on receiving the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Health Award. This award is given to an Alaska Native in the health field who has improved the health outcomes of Native peoples through their competence and commitment. Aarons was nominated by BSNC and recognized at the 2022 AFN Convention.
Aarons is a public health professional and registered nurse. For more than two years, Aarons was a frontline healthcare leader who utilized her training and skills to operate the Alaska Native Medical Center’s COVID-19 Testing and Contact Tracing Program. This testing site was the largest testing site in the State of Alaska. At the site, Aarons served as a supervisor.
Aarons demonstrated her commitment to Alaska Native people’s health and wellbeing by working long hours and sacrificing time to lead testing and contact tracing efforts. Aarons has worked diligently throughout the pandemic under challenging conditions to ensure the health and safety of Alaskans.
Aarons earned a Master of Science in Public Health Nursing with a Minor in Health Policy from the University of California, San Francisco. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2005. Aarons is a Registered Nurse and has a BLS/ACLS Certification and COVID-19 Contact Tracing Certification.
Aarons continues to demonstrate a dedication to providing the best health care to Indigenous people. Aarons’ objective in life is to increase quality of life for all Alaskans, through self-empowerment on an individual, community and policy level. Aarons is the daughter of Dr. Charlie Aarons and the late Martha Anagick Aarons of Unalakleet. Her sisters are Miriam Aarons and Sarah Aarons. Aarons is Inupiaq and an enrolled tribal member of the Native Village of Unalakleet.