Sixty-six percent of smokers see a physician every year. In Alaska, 67 percent of smokers and 62 percent of smokeless tobacco users want to quit, according to Alaska Tobacco Facts. Over the last several weeks, we have shared information on tobacco use among Alaska Native people, the power of strong anti-tobacco policy and the emerging threat from new tobacco products. All of these are proven interventions to turn the tide of the tobacco epidemic among Alaska Native people, but perhaps ...

As you have seen over this series of articles, fighting the tobacco epidemic in Alaska requires many people and organizations working together. ANTHC’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (ANTHC TPC) collaborates with a wide variety of partners to address the issue of tobacco in local communities, to share tobacco-related resources and to provide training opportunities for advocates and health care professionals. Our partners include our Tribal health organizations for trainings and technical assistance to improve systems to “Ask, Advise and ...

On April 13, ANTHC Environmental Health and Engineering staff traveled to Seattle, Washington to attend the 4th Annual Arctic Encounter Symposium, the largest annual Arctic policy event in the United States. The two-day symposium, themed Shifting North: A New Era in the Arctic, brought together a number of individuals and nonprofit organizations from Iceland, Greenland, Canada, Russia, Norway, and the United States to discuss developing scientific and geo-political issues concerning the future of the Arctic. Alaska Senators Dan Sullivan and ...

Providing sustainable public health infrastructure for our Alaska Native communities, such as water and sanitation services, requires partnership across many organizations. ANTHC works with our Tribal health partners, communities, government representatives and project partners to introduce the challenges and opportunities of rural sanitation construction that can have profound impacts on the health of our people. Recently, Rear Admiral Chris Buchanan, Acting Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS), traveled to the Interior Alaska communities of Allakaket and Rampart to participate ...

Mental health plays a big role in overall well-being. As we go through life we have both good and bad experiences. By balancing our experiences with the basics of mental health, we can incorporate positive habits as a way to support our own mental wellness and lead a healthy life. Please join us through the month of May to honor Mental Health Awareness Month with weekly activities aimed to enhance your overall wellness. Starting Monday, May 2, surveys will be ...

As the flu season approaches, ANMC is gearing up for our annual flu vaccine clinic, which will be held every Saturday in October (Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29) at the Anchorage Primary Care Center in the Primary Care Clinic 2 East. The clinic is for patients age 5 and older who have an established medical chart at ANMC. The Saturday Flu Vaccine Clinic will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Saturday. No appointment is necessary to ...