ANTHC Emergency Management The Emergency Management Department at Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) was created in 2003 to help the Alaska Tribal Health System prepare for disasters and emergencies. The Department is funded by generous grants from the Centers for Disease Control through the Alaska Division of Health and Social Services. Our department is located in the ANTHC Division of Community Health Services, 4000 Ambassador Drive in Anchorage. Compared to many other regions, Alaska is vulnerable to a broad variety of hazards including earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, storms, wildfires, and epidemics. Man-made events include transportation accidents, fires, hazardous materials release, civil disturbances, and bomb threats. Because Alaska is such a vital producer of oil and natural gas, our state is even considered to be at risk from terrorist attack. A coordinated response by all agencies in the State is an effective method to assist with early detection of an agent or an evaluation of an epidemic disease and appropriate anti-viral distributions to manage the epidemic. The Alaska Tribal Health System The Alaska Tribal Health System (ATHS) provides health care and other services to 130,000 Alaska Native beneficiaries. In many areas of the state the ATHS provides the only health care in the region and would provide emergency care and other disaster response efforts to all victims. Statewide Collaboration Alaska is extremely fortunate in the partnerships that have been formed to respond to and manage disasters. More so than probably any other state, State and federal agencies, municipalities, the ATHS, industry, the military and others have worked together to develop and improve emergency response capacity. An example of this partnership and cooperation is the distribution of emergency medical supplies and equipment during a disaster. The state would rely on the ATHS to efficiently and rapidly ship emergency supplies across the state. Community and Community Clinic Emergency Plan Development A survey conducted by the ANTHC Emergency Management Department in 2004 indicated that 60 percent of tribal clinics had an emergency plan and 49 percent of tribal communities had an emergency plan. To improve these numbers the ANTHC Emergency Management Department developed model plans that communities and clinics can use to develop their own plans. Other model plans have been developed. These include a guide for emergency child care center operations during disasters and emergencies, a guide for enhanced communicable disease surveillance during an epidemic and a guide for conducting a hazard vulnerability study. These are available on this website (click on links shown at left). Emergency Preparedness Workshops Much of the collaboration and partnership successes that have been achieved are the result of emergency preparedness workshops held across the state. Regions and communities invite a team composed of ANTHC, state agency personnel and others to hold two to three-day workshops. These workshops cover aspects of emergency management of use to the communities in that region including community and clinic plan development. To date, more than 200 communities have participated in these workshops. The ANTHC Emergency Preparedness Department has three staff that are available to help communities and health care entities develop and improve their emergency response capabilities. Contact Information Please feel free to call Community Health at (907) 729-3632 for any further details. |
