The Vortex Group

Now THIS is a camper!

I miss notifications on here....If you'd like to talk to me, email me at [email protected] or call me at 907-336-8595. Thanks!

I get frequent calls about travel work for CNAs in Alaska. I’ll try and hit the details and anticipate some questions. I apologize for the tone and I hope it doesn’t sound to preachy or aggressive.

We staff primarily in Bush Alaska. Right now, we are using CNAs in Bethel and Kotzebue. We have done quite a bit with Nome in the past but not currently. We don’t use CNAs anywhere in the Lower 48. We have used temp CNAs in previous years in Petersburg, Cordova and Wrangell but those opportunities are very rare and they will ask for Alaska licensed CNAs who have worked for me before. There is no chance of you getting an assignment in Anchorage or Fairbanks. None.

First, NO KIDS, NO DOGS OR PETS, NO HUSBANDS OR WIVES. Just you.

Second, going as a pair is not always a plus. The answer I get from the manager is, ‘What’s in it for me? They want to work together, have the same shifts, same days off so I have to build the schedule around a couple of travelers. They always say they don’t care about working together … but they do. Then they gang up on the others. If one gets fired, they both leave together.’

Fired? Does that happen? Rarely. We had one let go in February 2018 and another one who went home to check on a child after 6 weeks and was told to stay there but that’s it. Typically have 10 or 12 working at any time so that means I use about 50 CNAs per year.

We pay $21/hour and this is all taxable. Occasionally, we hear of other companies who pay more but they do not take out any deductions. Nothing taken out for taxes, social security, work comp, nothing. We can’t and won’t do it that way.

We do not guarantee any overtime. The contracts are going to be written for 36/hrs per week but years of experience show that, on average, CNAs in Kotzebue get about 50 hrs per week and even more in Bethel. You will routinely clear $800-900/week and I’ve seen bigger checks.

“I wanna work all the hours I can get, I’ll work 90 hours a week!” I’m sure you do but so does everybody else. Both facilities work 12 hour shifts, 7 to 7. We cannot tell you if you will be on days or nights. Pay is straight time/$21 hr up to 40 hours, time and a half/$30.50 over 40. In Kotzebue, CNAs routinely get around 50 hours a week and the CNAs in Bethel do even better but the managers do not want CNAs begging for OT. Everyone wants to work and make money but the hours need to be shared and mgmt. is careful not to overwork staff and cause accidents.

Assignments are 17 weeks/4 months and I’ll explain why: There is virtually no chance you can get an Alaska license. Alaska requires 140 hours of training to get a license, 80 hours classroom and 60 hours clinical. Virtually every other program in the Lower 48 is less, and, no, your work experience does not count and, no, you cannot get the missing hours online or at another class. You can, however, work for 120 days on an out of state license. This is a one-shot deal; you can only do this once in your lifetime at one facility. One facility only and the ‘clock’ starts ticking the day you report and it does not stop. That means you cannot go up to work for, say, 13 weeks, go home for a bit and then go back and work 4 more weeks.

Housing and air fare are included which means free. We don’t make you book your ticket and reimburse you, we buy the ticket up front. We do the best we can with travel and try to fly like we would fly but that means coach seats and you may end up in a middle. We try to avoid that but it happens. We try and get you through in one day but if you have to spend the night somewhere and the layover is long enough, we will put you up in an airport hotel. Sometimes delays happen and we’ll work with you. Orientation is on Monday so typically, you will leave on a Saturday and arrive late Saturday night or Sunday morning. Somebody will meet you at the airport and get you into housing and give you a quick tour.

Related: We buy the plane ticket but at that point, you are subject to the airlines rules regarding baggage. If you want to bring along a bunch of excess baggage, you are subject to those charges. Again, don’t overthink it.

We have zero control over housing. In Kotzebue, they have been using ‘KIC housing’ which is, essentially, a dormitory. Private – and small – bedroom, shared kitchen, multiple bathrooms down the hall. It is about 500 feet from the facility. There are no other options right now. In Bethel, you will be housed with one or two other travelers in a two or three bedroom apartment. They try to get you as close to the facility as possible but, again, options are limited. If you are too far away, you will get cab vouchers but NOTE: These are only for the days that you work.

Facilities are 18 bed, new and clean. Typically staff with 5 CNAs on days, 3 at night. Plenty of nurses and other staff on duty as well. Lots of resources and supplies. The residents are typically Alaska Native, mostly women. Small people, generally, so not a lot of heavy lifting but hoists are there and need to be used.

Payday is every Friday by direct deposit. The only bank that serves Bush Alaska is Wells Fargo so if you have time, setting up an account with them helps. They have ATMs which are free to Wells customers but $3/transaction for everyone else. If you need to send or receive money, Western Union is set up at the AC Co, the big grocery store. We pay on Fridays but you will need to have 12 days worth of cash to get through until money flows. Let’s give you a typical example: You leave home on Saturday, June 15. You will arrive on Sunday, June 16 and orient on Monday, June 17. You will then work that first week and the pay period will end on Saturday night, June 22. We will get you time card on Monday morning, June 24 and process it. You will then get paid by direct deposit on Friday, June 28. That means you have to go from June 15th until the 28th on your money.

Speaking of time cards, you are responsible for preparing a paper time card and having your supervisor sign it and submit it. It needs to be accurate and you need to do the math and figure out your hours and your overtime. If there is a discrepancy, you need to work that out with your supervisor before it gets to us.

There are only 6 major holidays: New Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. If you work those days, you get time and a half. If you don’t work, it is just a day off. The permanent employees got many more paid holidays…but they are permanent and you are not. Also, note that for the purposes of holiday pay, just like all other days, we do not split time cards. If you go in at 7 pm on the 15th and don’t get off until 7 am on the 16th, all those 12 hours are counted towards the 15th. Therefore, if you go in at 7 pm on December 24 and work until 7 am on the 25th, you do not get 7 hrs of holiday pay. Conversely, if you go in at 7 pm on December 25 and get off at 7 am on December 26, all 12 hours are OT/holiday.

Again, assignments are 17 weeks and, no, they are not going to do 8 weeks or 10 weeks because that works for you. If you take an assignment that starts in September, yes, you will be there for Christmas. Start dates are also out of my control. I can’t send somebody up to start on August 17 if they are fully staffed and don’t need anyone until Sept 15.

Apartments are fully furnished, you don’t need to bring anything but your clothes. Any color of scrub works fine except white which is too intimidating.

Mail service is slow and sporadic. You can get a post office box once you get there but try and move as much of your billpaying on line as you can. DO NOT have mail sent to the hospital; they have hundreds of employees and have no idea who you are. Also, bear in mind that the hospital is a long ways away from the post office so if you get a heavy package, somebody – you – is going to have to carry it home.

Groceries are frightfully expensive and there is no secret way to save money on food. You just need to plan ahead, don’t waste anything and eat your leftovers. Note: There are no secret ways to save money on food. Mailing or shipping stuff to you is expensive, FedEx and UPS don’t deliver. You will have limited options for storing fresh food or meat so be smart. Just plan on spending more than you would like and deal with it like everyone else does. Bear in mind, if there was some sneaky way to save money on groceries, the locals would do it and the stores would be closed.

Cell phone coverage is spotty. In Kotzebue, AT&T works pretty well, most other carriers don’t work at all. However, AT&T does not have an office in Kotzebue. Your best bet is to find an old phone and have AT&T put a sim card in it or change out the sim car on your existing phone. In Bethel, the only thing that works at all is a local carrier, GCI. You can wait until you get there to buy a cheap Chinese phone and a prepaid plan for $40/month. Bear in mind, though, cell coverage is not as fast as you are likely used to and if you are used to FaceTiming your sister, that is not going to work that well and it will get expensive in a hurry.

Internet is available for free in the facilities but not in your apartment. You can get it hooked up by the local company, GCI, but it is not cheap and it is not fast. If all you want to do is check your email and goof around on the web, that you can do but if you want to watch Netflix all night, the overage data charges are going to kill you. My advice would be to take along a cheap DVD player and have someone send you movies. You can buy used DVDs anywhere for a dollar a piece.

Plan ahead for clothing, bring what you need with you. Do not wait to buy a heavy jacket when you’re there, the prices will kill you. Go to Amazon or WalMart and get what you need. It will be cold much of the time and the wind will blow. All the time. There will be days of incredible beauty and there will be days when it will be dangerously cold. I’ve never had a traveler get injured by weather but I have had plenty get scared and have had travel plans interrupted. All part of life in the Fan North.

“Can I travel to another town on my day’s off?” Sure but it ain’t cheap. A ticket to Anchorage is going to cost $450 or so and then $200/night for a hotel and then add in cabs and meals. You can do it but you will easily spend a week’s wages.

You will enjoy the work. The facilities are new and clean, the residents warm and friendly, the staff and management are supportive. The biggest issue is how to occupy your time on your days off. You need to have a few hobbies, make some friends and interact with them. Go to the school and watch basketball games. Go to church, cook together. Don’t just sit in your room alone watching reruns of ‘Law and Order.’

“What if there is an emergency and my mom gets sick?” If you fly home in the middle of the asst, the cost of the flight is on you and can easily top $1,500. Depending on how that leaves the facility’s staff, they may let you come back. They may just tell me to get someone else.

If you have any specific questions, call me or I can put you in touch with a recent traveler who can give you the inside scoop.

What I can tell you is this: I can put you to work, it is just a matter of when, not if. However, there is a fair amount of work that will need to be done on your end. In order to move forward, we need a job application, resume, skills sheets, complete shot records, copies of your ID and that’s just for starters. Once we get moving, we will then need fingerprint cards and a drug test and TB.

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve talked to CNAs who are all excited and can’t wait to go to work ……. And then I never hear from them again. I can’t put someone to work if all I have is a name and a phone number.

Bush Alaska is like no place on earth. This will be an experience of a lifetime.

If you want to work in Alaska, I can make it happen. The rest is up to you.

Jim Wilke
907-336-8595 office
907-242-7022 cell
[email protected] email

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I need an LPN, probably two, in Kotzebue and possibly another in Nome. I need an acute care/ER nurse in Petersburg and I'm looking for CNAs for both Kotzebue and Nome. Call me at 907-336-8595 or 907-242-7022 for more info.

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