Overview:
A Native serving hospital in Alaska is now under Tribal ownership after decades of advocacy.
The largest Native serving hospital in Alaska is now under Tribal ownership.
After decades of advocacy by tribes, the Indian Health Service (IHS) officially transferred ownership of the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Ala., to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC).
ANTHC is the largest tribal health organization in the United States. According to its website, the nonprofit employs 3,700 staff who work at the ANMC and in field clinics across the state.
Tribal organizations have operated programs and services at ANMC for nearly 30 years under Public Law 105-83 — which authorized the ANTHC to operate statewide healthcare programs. Still, Alaska Tribes did not own the hospital itself.
ANTHC says owning the facility opens more funding opportunities. Last month, the ANTHC board approved a $462 million investment in ANMC, the largest in the hospital’s history. At the time, the facility was still federally owned.
With the hospital now under tribal ownership, ANTHC can pursue federal facility-cost funding available to eligible Tribally owned or leased facilities and expand the financing and philanthropic means available to maintain and expand the hospital.
ANTHC Board Chair Kimberley Strong said the transfer of ownership represents a step forward in self-determination.
“Tribal leaders have long understood that the Alaska Native Medical Center should be owned and operated by Tribes,” Strong said. “Today, that vision is a reality, reflecting a shared commitment to Tribal self-determination in healthcare sustained across generations.”
According to its website, in 1953, the Bureau of Indian Affairs opened the ANMC to bring medical treatment to Alaska Native people who fell sick during the state’s tuberculosis epidemic. Two years later, in 1955, the IHS was established to provide health care to Native peoples in the U.S., and the agency took over hospital operations.
Today, the 182-bed hospital sees nearly 10,000 patients each year. The facility houses more than 1,000 pieces of Alaska Native art.
“The Alaska Native Medical Center is the place where the Alaska Tribal Health System comes together,” ANTHC President and CEO Natasha Singh said in a press release. “The hospital is central to our system, and Tribal leaders have always recognized how important it is to have this crucial facility both owned and operated by Tribes. Because of their efforts, we will now have a greater ability to steward this essential statewide resource, plan for its future, and make investments that support the health needs of Alaska Native people for generations to come.”
