PAs Go Beyond

As a community health aide instructor in Alaska, PA Quana Ticket trains community health aides to perform thorough exams and provide care in remote villages across the state. Ticket speaks to how these healthcare professionals play a critical role in the Tribal Health system and how they are improving access to care in 170 rural Alaskan villages.

Melinda Rawcliffe’s career in healthcare has taken her to war zones, remote islands, and oil drilling sites. But while her assignments have been varied, she sees a common theme: All of these experiences have been available to her because she’s a PA.

PA Robert Smith realized he could maximize his impact on the PA profession by leading organizations on the national level. He has since chaired AAPA’s Minority Affairs Committee, which existed for more than 25 years; co-founded PAs for Latino Health, an AAPA caucus; and championed initiatives that will improve healthcare for Latino communities.

Three Army PAs who attended this year’s conference highlight the panels, events, and presentations where Army PAs found opportunities to learn and reconnect at AAPA 2022.

As a first-generation Vietnamese American woman, PA Madeleine Henriquez is grateful for the sacrifices her elders endured on her behalf. She, too, wanted to help others – and has done so as a PA in oncology, a PA Foundation Mental Health First Aid Fellow, and a compassionate clinician.

Joel J. Hunt, PA-C, is the 2022 recipient of the PA of the Year Award. A pioneer in street medicine, Hunt works as the Acclaim Director of Street Medicine at the JPS Health Network in Fort Worth, Texas, where he provides primary care to unsheltered and homeless individuals.