“ Everybody kind of chooses their own path and their own passion that they want to do ( in residency ), mine was politics and advocacy . Whether we like it or not , politics turns the wheels of medicine , and I want to help influence those politics ,” Aiena said . “ I ’ m really blessed that I have a job where I can help 20 to 30 people a day , everyday at work – that ’ s awesome and I love it . If I could influence a piece of legislation , I could help change something on a state level and I could help thousands of people at one time , that ’ s always what I ’ ve dreamed of and enjoyed , in addition to my dreams of becoming a physician .”
Now , his interests lie in the broader spectrum of increasing access to healthcare for rural Texas , a challenge faced in his efforts to bring COVID-19 vaccinations to the area .
“ The access that we had to the shots was kind of a metaphor for a lot of other things ,” Aiena said . “ Rural Texas and rural counties everywhere have trouble getting that same access to care that our friends have in bigger cities . It ’ s just logistical issues , it ’ s not anyone ’ s fault , it ’ s just that we have different logistical challenges that we ’ re up against and I ’ d like to work to handle some of those .”
However , for now , he ’ s looking forward to taking a break from his advocacy and enjoying a job well done .
“ I ’ m very happy it happened and very happy it ’ s done , we can move on and I can go back to being a doctor and a dad ,” Aiena said .
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It was such a struggle , it was so hard and took so much work from everybody involved , but now that it ’ s over and you look back , it really was incredible what we got accomplished with the amount of vaccines we were able to get out and the difference it made in Huntsville .
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