Aida Winona Strom moves efficiently from room to room at the Hennepin County Medical Center, clipboard in hand, her gentle greeting a pleasant surprise: "Hello, I'm Aida. Where are you from?"
Strom, 35, has just completed her first year as the hospital's American Indian patient advocate, a unique role developed to build trust with the hospital's growing number of American Indian patients and improve their health outcomes. Many face chronic conditions such as diabetes and kidney failure. Strom's warm smile and expertise in "translating" the medical system are sweet medicine.
"It's easier when they know me," she said. "When we greet each other, we ask, 'Where are you from? Oh, I know someone from Standing Rock.' It's a connector. The comfort level is there."
A member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Oyate of South Dakota, Strom knows family names, traditions, quirks. She understands how scary it can be to be sick far from family and farther still from familiar healing practices. Calm and organized, she's relentless on the phone when advocating for her patients, whose needs range from easy (a meal or blanket) to complex, such as bringing in a medicine man or finding sleeping quarters for family members who often accompany a loved one to the hospital, then stay for weeks.
"That's the typical dynamic of Indian people, especially from out of state," she said. "The patient is flown in and, all of a sudden, 10 family members are there because that's what we do."
Social work manager Sara Molstad said patients "perk up" when Strom walks into the room. "They appreciate that someone is there to ask them how they're doing or, 'Would you like a visit from a community elder?' Sometimes people face barriers because they don't know how to ask," Molstad said. "Aida is that voice."
The mother of a 4-year-old daughter born at HCMC, Strom isn't opposed to tough love, either. "A patient will tell me, 'Look, I've been buzzing this buzzer for two minutes now.' I'll say, 'You're on a floor with 25 other people. You may have to wait.'"
Advocates like Strom are rare. Molstad knows of only one other, in South Dakota. HCMC has had four advocates over 20 years, their duties crafted and evolving with guidance from local American Indian leaders. In January, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community gave HCMC a $10,000 grant to increase Strom's hours from 20 to 24 hours a week. Still, she barely comes up for air.
