This week, the Indian Health Service (IHS) announced its plans to begin a process to expand the use of community health aides at IHS-operated and Tribally managed facilities across the U.S. This announcement follows a Tribal consultation period announced in June 2016. In the Alaska Tribal Health System, we have seen the success of the Community Health Aide Program (CHAP), Dental Health Aide Therapists, Behavioral Health Aides and their role in increasing access to quality care at our Tribally managed ...

The ANTHC Tobacco Prevention Program is working with our Tribal health partners to offer online tobacco treatment specialist (TTS) training. Three participants from each Tribal health region are invited to take the online course beginning January 11 and ending March 22. The Tobacco Prevention Program first tested the training this spring on the Alaska Native Health Campus with ANMC providers and other partners. This second pilot course will help inform course improvements before going live for other participants later in ...

Effectively sharing health information is a key component of positive health outcomes and patient safety. Health literacy is one of the seven focus areas of the Wellness Strategies for Health initiative, a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote health and wellness for Alaska Native and American Indian people. Through the grant, Alaska Native Epidemiology Center staff collaborated with ANTHC Human Resources to create the “Always Use Teach-back!” interactive learning module to the ANTHC HealthStream Learning ...

ANTHC has long been a champion of health training and education as a means to provide the best quality health care for our people. Internal medicine grand rounds at ANMC have been offered regularly since 1999 as part of a coordinated effort of the Alaska chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP) to provide relevant continuing medical education (CME) opportunities for Alaska’s health care providers. Grand rounds, the traditional medical education lecture and case studies presentation, have been adapted ...

The curriculum for Alaska’s Dental Health Aide Therapist (DHAT) program was recently approved by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, through ANTHC’s partnership with Iḷisaġvik College in Barrow. This newly accredited degree program offers DHAT students the opportunity to earn an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree. In addition to the two-year AAS degree, which helps create broader career pathways for DHAT graduates, Iḷisaġvik will award a DHAT certificate upon completion of the first year of study. The program ...

ANTHC’s Tobacco Prevention and Control program offers an annual Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS) training for those interested in becoming Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialists. This five-day intensive training teaches health care professionals the necessary skills to provide effective, evidence-based interventions for individuals who are ready to quit using tobacco. This year’s training took place Sept. 26-30 and 40 health care professionals from 16 communities across the state attended including Dental Health Aide Therapists (DHATs), Community Health Aide Practitioners (CHAPs), Behavioral Health ...