Alaska Native people have one of the highest rates of colon cancer in the world. To help improve the health of our families and future generations, ANTHC and the University of Pittsburgh are conducting a research study. The researchers will look at the effect fiber (found in fruits and vegetables) in the diet has on colon cancer risk. Foods we eat may affect our risk for colon cancer. Studies suggest that when people eat more fiber it can reduce their ...

This is the final story of a four part sponsored series with the Anchorage Daily News. For years, Alaska Native people sought to manage their own Tribal health care system. When the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium formed, that goal had been reached, and the work was just beginning. With Tribal health care in Alaska no longer directed by Indian Health Service administrators in Maryland, ANTHC had the flexibility to manage services that would enable Alaska Native people to chart their own course to good ...

This is part three of a four part sponsored series with the Anchorage Daily News. For the average Alaskan, 1997 was the year that brought the most visible change to Tribal health care. That’s when the Indian Health Service finished construction on the $170 million Alaska Native Medical Center in midtown Anchorage. Behind the scenes, something much bigger was taking shape. The Alaska Tribal Health Compact Since the 1970s, Alaska’s Tribes had been contracting with the federal government, Read Part 2, to manage an ...

The Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation will host the 12th annual Raven’s Ball on Saturday, March 23 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage. Regarded as one of Alaska’s most elegant black-tie celebrations and vibrant fundraising events, this year’s event continues the tradition of philanthropy to benefit the Foundation. The three key initiatives of the Foundation are: improving medical care, strengthening wellness and prevention efforts, and promoting healthy village environments. An annual highlight of the event is the presentation of the ...

With help from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Spruce Island Development Corporation, the City of Ouzinkie, a community just north of Kodiak, secured nearly $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). CDBG grants are provided to help local governments tackle serious challenges facing their communities. In Ouzinkie’s case, the funding will help replace aging ...

News and information from ANTHC programs are highlighted in local media recently. In case you missed them: On KTVA 11, Dr. Holly Alfrey-Van Dyk, chief medical officer at the Alaska Native Medical Center, among doctors recommending the flu vaccine if you have not received it: Flu season: Doctors urging Alaskans to get flu shotsIn the Anchorage Daily News, inpatients in ANTHC specialty clinics are treated to the healing power of seal soup at the Alaska Native Medical Center: At the ...

This is part two of a four part sponsored series with the Anchorage Daily News. Fish strips hung in the smokehouse. Flies and mosquitoes buzzed around the outhouses. Pompan stepped off the boat in a three-piece suit and wing tip shoes. “I don’t know where he thought he was going, but he dressed for D.C., and he came to Indian Country,” recalled Paul Sherry. Sherry, who would later go on to be the first CEO of Alaska’s statewide Tribal health consortium, was ...

This is part one of a four part sponsored series with the Anchorage Daily News. Today, Alaska’s tribal health care system is owned and managed by the Alaska Native people, with objectives and innovations that are unique to the cultures, trends and geography of our state. But this hasn’t always been the case. Ask those who worked to put Alaska Native health care in the hands of Alaska Native people and they’ll tell you there was nothing easy about getting ...

The Alaska Native Medical Center was recently reverified as a Level II 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). ANMC was Alaska’s first Level II Trauma Center – first receiving verification in 1999. This achievement recognizes ANMC’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients. “Our performance in providing the best care possible for injured patients was reaffirmed by the American College ...

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 ...