From Ambulances to Fishing Boats: Meet an American Seafoods Purser

When Toya Ellis worked as an EMT in Texas, the time she spent with patients lasted about the length of an ambulance ride. Now, her time with patients is much longer – about the length of a fishing season.

Toya is a purser aboard the Northern Eagle, and her most pressing task is caring for crewmembers who need medical attention. All season Toya provides medicine, monitors symptoms, and communicates with doctors on land until her patients are healthy. She might help for one appointment, or her care could last longer.

This is all onboard a 300 ft. long fishing vessel, in the Bering Sea or off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.

“Sometimes I wake up and I’m like, how did I get out here in Alaska?” Toya said.

Before working as an EMT, she served four years in the United States Navy. There she learned that she enjoys public service and that she’s capable of living a life at sea.

“That’s the one thing that shocks a lot of people when they come out, is how close the quarters are,” she said. “It didn’t bother me at all.”

Toya learned there were opportunities to use her medical background at sea and found work in the fishing industry as a processor. She jumped ship to American Seafoods when she learned about advancement opportunities, and after a year of researching different promotions, she landed the job of purser.

When a purser isn’t caring for patients, she’s reporting vessel activities to different government agencies and handling other administrative tasks. But when there’s a patient in need, that’s her top priority – and it takes all hands on deck.

“If anyone’s sick onboard the vessel, the key crew will jump in and help out,” Toya said. “It’s constant teamwork. Without teamwork we can’t get it done.”

Those same teammates could become her patients. It can be challenging to care for teammates, but it’s also an opportunity to see the impact of her work up close. She sees patients fight through an illness and come out on the other side healthy, happy, and ready to move forward.

Mental wellness is important at sea too, and Toya does what she can to encourage her patients on rough days. How she stays balanced is all about the right point of view. To quote a note she hung up in her office: The attitude you bring the day is what the day brings you.

That’s important to her no matter where she is – at land or sea – and no matter what she does.

“I could be taking out the trash,” Toya said, “and we’re gonna make it look good.”

Who’s On Board is a series profiling the hardworking crew members on the six catcher/processor ships operated by American Seafoods. Check back soon for more!