With cold weather encouraging people to stay inside near a warm fire, now is a good time to think about how the proper maintenance of our woodstoves can protect our safety and health, as well as the longevity of the stove. It’s important to keep tabs on what you are burning and how it burns. For instance, a black, soot-filled window on your woodstove can be an indication that maintenance is needed, or burning practices need to be changed. A ...

The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) urges hospitals and birthing centers to meet the national standard of care by providing a universal birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine in order to provide infants with protection against the disease from a variety of types of exposures. In 2018, newborns were administered the hepatitis B vaccine before leaving the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) hospital at an average rate of more than 90 percent, protecting them from chronic hepatitis B infection and liver ...

As part of a community-driven solution, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium introduced the first successful dental therapist workforce in the United States in 2004. Dental Health Aide Therapists (DHATs) provide culturally appropriate dental education and routine dental services in Alaska Native communities, usually their home village, within the scope of their training. The program was recently profiled by Do Something Awesome, a film storytelling project of WorkingNation, to showcase unique solutions in workforce development across the U.S. The article and ...

Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas that can be a serious health hazard among people who are constantly exposed. Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., after smoking. During January’s Radon Action Month, our Alaska Native people are encouraged to learn more about radon, which is formed through the decay of uranium beneath the earth’s surface. It escapes through soil and can seep into homes that are built directly on the ground, have basements, or ...

Much like it takes time and patience to grow any plant, it took the planning and work from many for the traditional garden in the ANMC cafeteria courtyard to blossom. After its first year of toil, the garden’s harvest brought a bounty of plants from across the state and has become an area where our patients can stroll and relax as they recover. The idea for a traditional garden was first planted when ANTHC leadership envisioned a space where traditional ...

Recently, the ANTHC Tobacco Prevention Program graduated its first cohort of the Online Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training, hosted on ANTHC’s Distance Learning Network. The ANTHC Tobacco Prevention Program worked with our Tribal health partners to offer the online training to reduce the time and cost necessary to participate. The training teaches health care professionals the necessary skills to provide effective, evidence-based interventions for individuals who are ready to quit using tobacco. “If you can help even one person quit tobacco, ...