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Education and Training
Alaska Health Aide Programs
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Empowering care in your community.
Alaska comprises one-fifth of the area of the United States, but it is the least populated. Eighty percent of our state is unreachable by road, often leaving residents of rural communities dependent on care from the air. Yet, as we know, our skies aren’t always hospitable for flying. All these challenges combined to pose one big question: How do we get necessary care closer to home?
The answer is to create a new care system customized to individual communities.
The development of the Alaska Tribal Health Systems (ATHS) health aide model brought this answer to life. Alaska Health Aide programs have created a workforce of more than 500 Community Health Aides or Practitioners (CHA/Ps), Behavioral Health Aides, and Dental Health Aides serving the health care needs of Alaska Native people in more than 170 communities throughout our state.
Health Aide Programs:
Behavioral Health Aides
When we talk about health, we most often talk about physical health. But emotional well-being is just as essential.
Behavioral Health Aides (BHAs) help foster community, individual, and family well-being. BHAs are community-based counselors, health educators, and advocates who are trained to address the unique social and cultural needs of their communities. BHAs blend traditional and Western models of care. Plus, their in-depth understanding of their community allows them to offer truly unique, holistic care. BHAs support patients who are experiencing grief, depression, domestic violence, suicide, trauma, and substance use.
Contact
907-729-2431
bhaprogram@anthc.org
Certification and Scope of Practice
Behavioral Health Aide/Practitioner (BHA/P):
The duties of a BHA vary based on location, community need, and organizational priorities. The BHA scope of practice includes a range of services:
- Wellness promotion
- Community education and prevention
- Case management and referrals
- Substance use assessment and treatment
- Recovery aftercare, including teaching life skills and healthy coping strategies
- Crisis management
A BHA is a team member who works under the supervision of a licensed provider. The BHA scope of practice is defined by four levels of certification (BHA I, II, III, Practitioner). Each level builds upon the skills and abilities of the previous level and expands the services they can provide across the continuum of care.
Interested in helping your community? Visit akchap.org
Dental Health Aides
Oral health shouldn’t be impacted by where you live, but for many Alaska Native people, it historically has been. Dental Health Aids (DHAs) have helped close the gap in access to dental care by providing culturally competent dental care and prevention services.
A DHA is a dental team member who works under the supervision of a licensed dental provider. There are various levels of DHAs who can provide preventive dental services, education, cleanings and fillings.
Contact
907-729-5600
akadhat@anthc.org
Certification and Scope of Practice
The CHAP Certification Board certifies all dental health aides in Alaska. The types of dental health aides include: primary dental health aides, expanded function dental health aides, dental health aide hygienist and dental health aide therapist.
Certification requirements and scope of practice for each type of DHA can be found in the Standards and Procedures located at https://www.akchap.org/chapcb/standards-and-procedures/
The Alaska Dental Therapy Educational Program (ADTEP) is a program for individuals wanting to become a Dental Health Aide Therapist. It is a CODA approved three-academic year program offered in partnership with ANTHC and IỊisaġvik College. Students earn an Associate in Applied Science.
Interested in becoming a DHAT? Email akadhat@anthc.org today.
DHA Resources
- Dental Health Aide Information on akchap.org
- CODA: Evaluation & Operational Policies & Procedures
- Expanding the Dental Team
- An ADTEP Personal Narrative
- Addressing Oral Health Disparities
- Economic Viability of Dental Therapists
- A Review of the Global Literature on Dental Therapists
- Evaluation of the Dental Health Aide Therapist Workforce Model in Alaska
Community Health Aides and Practitioners (CHA/P)
CHA/Ps are the backbone of rural healthcare in Alaska. The evolution of the Community Health Aide program began nearly 60 years ago and has since become the gold standard across the country and the model for our other Community Health Aide programs. CHA/Ps facilitate health care for a community by working with a physician or other provider to make choices about treatment, medication, stabilization and transport. CHA/Ps are the patient’s first contact within the network of health professionals in the Alaska Tribal Health System.
Bringing care closer to home is not just a benefit to the physical and emotional well-being of a patient. It is also more efficient, more cost-effective, and creates a continuity of care that wouldn’t otherwise be experienced in rural Alaska.
Contact
907-729-2427
akchap@anthc.org
Certification and Scope of Practice
Community Health Aides and Practitioners (CHA/Ps):
Clinical skills include:
- Use of the Community Health Aide Manual (CHAM)
- Performing a physical exam
- Performing lab skills
- Educating patients
- Administering medicines
- Performing certain treatment procedures
- Documenting patient encounters
ANTHC is pleased to support the Community Health Aide Training Program and prepare CHA/Ps for their vital role in the Tribal health system. Training centers are located in Anchorage, Bethel, Nome and Fairbanks. CHAs take part in four sessions of training-each lasts three to four weeks. CHA/Ps at any level of training may obtain certification by the Community Health Aide Program Certification Board.
For more information on the Alaska Community Health Aide Program, please visit akchap.org.
Support the Alaska Health Aide Programs
Learn more about supporting health aides here: healthyalaskanatives.org
ADTEP thanks our major funding partners for their generous support:
Rasmuson Foundation | W.K. Kellogg Foundation