UNC Hospitals’ Alvis Page marks 6 decades of state service

This month, the University is highlighting employees marking significant milestones in their service to the state of North Carolina. Among those recognized is Alvis Page, 78, a treasured member of the School of Medicine’s anesthesiology department, who has worked at Carolina longer than most employees have been alive.

Born and raised in Pittsboro, North Carolina, Page told The Well he began working at UNC Hospitals in the early 1960s as a food server and baker. From there, Page worked in patient equipment and transitioned to the anesthesiology department as tech coordinator, where he set up a training program for anesthesia technicians and was the “first line of defense” if anything went mechanically wrong when patients were put under. He retired from that role in 1991 but continued to work for another 30 years as the department’s mail clerk, among other administrative support roles.

What do all of his contributions have in common? “A desire to enjoy what you do,” Page says.

The Well spoke with Page about his career, advice and reflections after approaching a remarkable 60 years of state service.

Once you landed in the anesthesiology department, what was your day-to-day life like?  

I was the anesthesia coordinator for the anesthesia tech program. I set the program up. It wasall consideredimportant for patients’ care, from the simplest to the greatest thing,of any mistake or failure of a piece of equipment during surgery. I was the first call if anything was wrong, if the physician doing the case lost EKG viewing on their oscilloscope or blood pressure— if [the reading]was too high or too low ordidn’thave it at all.Anything that went wrong with anesthesia patients during surgery — I was the first line of defense. 

“What was the problem?” My job was to go in and to resolve it.

— Alvis Page

What are the most notable changesyou’ve seen to the medicallandscape in 60 years? 

Over the years theincrease of employees and the requirement of your certification and performance duties is much greater than it was, even though you had tomeetthe highest expectation of your performance then. Now it’s much greater because our surgeries have advanced in so many ways. We’veseen heart transplants andother transplants that you can receive now. Even what a physician could do for you —what they had then compared tothe present time of putting you to sleep and keeping you stabilized and the ability to wake you up. 

After your time as tech coordinator, you worked in the anesthesiology department’s mail room. Are there any memorable pieces of mail that stick with you?  

Well, I gave every piece the most important care that I could. The mail that came inwith chairman, vice chairman, associatechairmanin the department—their names stuck out.  

The world has gone digital in the past few decades. How did that impact your experience in the mail room? 

It cut down on the mail that was being passed out and received because people were sending more emails to one another. That made a great difference in the amount of mail youhave todeliver, but itdidn’t stopmail that had to be delivered from one person to another, the mail that had to be hand-delivered. 

Do you have any advice for someone starting out their career, especially in the medical field? 

I would say that anyone that’s finishing school now, theexpectationof people now is on such a high level that you would go as farintoeducation as you can to get your best trainingonall levels. 

What has contributed to the longevity of your career? 

I think it has to do with your desire to enjoy what you do, what you are trained to do in your performance, how well you can perform your duties, the respect of your peers, the compassion that youhave for one another and the respect when it’s good times and how well you can come together if you have confrontationswith one another. 

Here is a full list of employees reaching a milestone year in state service.