The State of Alaska recently approved $740,000 of funding for upgrades and energy efficiency improvements for the Holy Cross, Kiana and Noorvik water and sewer systems. The funding will be used to improve sustainability and lower water system operating costs in these communities. Many of the upgrades and energy improvements were identified by energy audits completed by the ANTHC Rural Energy Initiative. The savings from these energy efficiency improvements can be significant; the Noorvik energy audit expects an annual savings ...

Since 2013, more effective drug therapies for treating hepatitis C have increased the rate at which our people are completing treatment that leads to a cure for the deadly virus. Joining a family of highly effective direct acting antiviral therapies available at ANMC is a newly licensed drug consisting of sofosbuvir and valpatasvir (Epclusa®, Gilead Sciences, Inc.). This is a fixed-dose combination tablet that covers six hepatitis C virus genotypes and is approved for use in persons with serious liver ...

To address the unique issues of brownfields that our Tribes face, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, in partnership with Kansas State University (KSU), will lead an effort in providing specialized Technical Assistance to Tribal Communities Addressing Brownfields. Brownfields are properties with hazardous substances, pollutants or other contaminants present. As the recipients of this five-year, $2 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-funded award, the project team of prominent Tribal organizations and experts, under the mentorship of KSU, will provide Tribal solutions ...

During the Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) annual convention, ANTHC Environmental Health and Engineering staff set up a display Portable Alternative Sanitation System (PASS) unit to demonstrate how the technology works for Tribal attendees. ANTHC worked with TCC’s Office of Environmental Health (OEH) and Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) to set up the PASS display at the event March 12-13 in Fairbanks. Over the course of two days, Kaitlin Mattos, a graduate student researcher at the University of Colorado partnered ...

The Alaska Native Medical Center was recently verified as a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center by the Verification Review Committee (VRC), an ad hoc committee of the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This achievement recognizes ANMC’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured pediatric patients. “Injury is the leading cause of death and disability for Alaska Native children,” said Dr. Frank Sacco, ANMC Chief of Surgery. “As a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center, ANMC ...

The average person spends approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, where their health can be affected by the environment around them. Moisture control and ventilation are two important aspects of maintaining healthy home air quality. When piped water is first introduced to a home, additional moisture build-up occurs, which could lead to mold growth, infrastructure damage and respiratory illnesses. In September, the ANTHC Tribal Air Quality and Healthy Homes Program collaborated with an ANTHC water service construction project in ...