This story appeared in the April – June 2019 edition of the Mukluk Telegraph. Read more stories from the latest issue here. This May, the 12th annual Youth Environmental Summit (YES) will convene in Kluti-Kaah, Alaska. YES is a day camp held in the Copper River region for youth in kindergarten to eighth grade, where participants learn about climate change, the environmental history of the area, and the importance of environmental stewardship. Gakona Village Council started the Summit in 2008 ...
When Eek Elder, Elias Keyes, turned on his new faucet for the first time and watched the water flow down his sink, he saw his relative’s prophetic words come to life. “My grandfather used to say a time would come when we could push a button and everything would happen. Now, I see that it is,” Keyes said. “When I’m gone, I won’t have to worry about my grandchildren having safe water.” In March, workers on the project to bring ...
One of ANTHC’s top priorities is increasing access to care for our people. As more than 60% of our patients travel from outside the Anchorage area for care, increased patient access also means increased demand for travel and housing services. ANTHC is working on key initiatives around travel management and housing. These are important to ANTHC’s strategic goals to increase coordination and access to care within the Tribal health system. ANTHC’s Travel Management Office (TMO) was established in July 2016 ...
When the call for nominations came out for IHS Technician of the Year, a large number of employees at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), thought of the same person at the same time: Jolene “JoJo” Chikigak. Chikigak is a certified pharmacy technician and currently serves as the Pharmacy Compliance Technician for Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC), the largest IHS hospital in the nation. She is the first technician to fulfill this new role for the organization, and she ...
As ANTHC’s latest sanitation project in Angoon nears completion, critical infrastructure upgrades are beginning to improve quality of life for the whole community. Angoon’s new, custom-built septic tank and outfall pipe are up and running, diverting waste from sensitive areas previously impacted by deficiencies in the old system. Mabel Jack, a community Elder whose yard had suffered wastewater discharges for years, enjoys a clean property. Area birds that formerly fed in contaminated areas are no longer enticed by wastewater spills. ...
For the 12th straight year, the Raven’s Ball, the Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation’s signature event, continued its tradition of distinguished and compelling fundraising. The black-tie gala raised an estimated $448,000 in sponsorships and cash contributions which will go toward improving the unmet health needs of Alaska Native people and the Alaska Tribal Health System. A sellout crowd attended the event at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage on March 23. Each spring, the Raven’s Ball raises awareness and funding to ...
ANTHC partnerships with the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and the City of Saxman have led to the completion of a new wastewater collection system that replaces aging infrastructure in the community. ANTHC partnered with the borough and city to lead the construction effort, which included replacing three existing ocean outfalls, construction of three community sewer lift stations and 16 manholes, and installation of approximately 5,200 feet of buried sewer mains. The added infrastructure in Saxman enables sections of the Ketchikan Gateway ...
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium is proud to announce that the Alaska Native Medical Center received this year’s Collaboration Achievement Award from LifeCenter Northwest. ANMC is one of 25 out of 200 hospitals in Alaska, Washington, North Idaho and Montana recognized with the award. The award recognizes hospital collaboration on conversations about organ donation with families, ensuring the best possible family experience. According to the press release LifeCenter, “This focus on partnership is a testament to Alaska Native Medical Center’s ...
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium is proud to announce Dr. Paul Forward as a recipient of The Alaska Journal of Commerce’s Top Forty Under 40 award. Every year, the Journal awards Alaskans for their talent and outstanding efforts in communities across the state. Dr. Forward works in rural Alaska through the ANTHC Rural Provider Network, most recently at the Maniilaq Health Center in Kotzebue. The ANTHC Rural Provider Network connects specialty care doctors to the places that they are ...
ANTHC’s Sleep Center was recently accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) after a site visit in February. This accreditation reflects a commitment to ensure that sleep disorder patients receive the highest quality of care and serves as an indicator to patients, referring physicians, other providers and insurers that the facility meets optimum quality of care demanded by AASM Accreditation. “The Sleep Center receiving AASM accreditation enables us to comprehensibly treat sleep disorders and provide the highest quality ...