Alumni
Victoria "Vickie" R. LaFromboise, AS, BS, MS
Preventive Health Specialist II
Yellowstone City County Health Department
Area of work: Preventive Health, American Indian Health Issues, Suicide Prevention
Victoria 's life and work experiences up to now have inspired her to become a zealous and devoted American Indian advocate, even though she has lived off the reservation for most of her life. For the past ten years, her educational and professional goals have been dedicated to diminishing health disparities among both urban and reservation-based American Indians.
Victoria has recently finished her master's degree in Health Promotion and Education from Montana State University (MSU). Although she had originally wanted to attend a School of Public Health to obtain a Master's of Public Health, she was enthusiastic about completing a community health assessment of the Blackfeet tribe, which she could more easily access through MSU. While attending MSU, she worked on two American Indian projects to help educate American Indian groups about the health disparities that affect them. Her first project involved educating Crow women about the importance of receiving an annual pap test, which resulted in extensive curriculum development along with her collection and creation of culturally appropriate educational materials.
Her second project, her master's thesis, focused on conducting a community health assessment on the Blackfeet Reservation. As the sole investigator, Victoria worked on every aspect of the project from developing the questions to administering the survey to analyzing the data. This was a community-based project with the purpose of identifying the top three health needs of the Blackfeet, as they perceive them. She also have co-authored a paper addressing Native women's health issues, which is currently in submission for publication.
Currently, Victoria is employed at Yellowstone City-County Health Department. Through her position as a Preventive Health Specialist II, she has had the opportunity to work with all of the tribes in Montana and Wyoming , the Indian Health Service, as well as community members in Yellowstone County, working across boundaries toward the common goal of identifying and eliminating health disparities in our region. Victoria enjoys working with the different entities and the diverse groups.
Personal Information:
I am Victoria "Vickie" LaFromboise, affiliated with the Blackfeet tribe. I am the eleventh child out of twelve; my parents are Robert and Rosalie LaFromboise. Most of my family has been involved in Indian issues: some in education and the others in the health area. My father, Robert, was involved with tribal health and the Indian Health Service (IHS) throughout his life. We are all involved in trying to eliminate the health disparities that exist in Indian country. I am married to Robert Johnson and we enjoy living and playing in Montana and spending time with family and friends.
What I would like to get out of this program:
I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn some new enhanced tools through the Emerging Leaders in Public Health Fellowship.