Rural Health

Alaska health news that specifically deals with health in rural Alaska. (This category is broken out because it is a grant requirement. These stories should also be categorized as “health.)

Two young Alaska Native men hold their hands over their hearts and bow their heads.

Talk to the Tundra: How a Yup’ik Village Heals Together | INDIE ALASKA

The Yup'ik village of Toksook Bay has been grappling with grief and a lack of mental health resources for young people after they finish school.
a COVID test

Free COVID tests headed to nation’s schools

The initiative will make available millions of tests for school districts as they enter the winter months when COVID activity is expected to peak.
Little Diomede

Little Diomede school struck by collapsing building closed indefinitely

Students are switching to remote learning after the city building partially collapsed onto the Diomede School Sunday morning.
boats

With law enforcement sparse, Alaska villages build network of safety for survivors

Advocates for domestic violence victims are seeking solutions as federal money goes to small Tribes with limited access to law enforcement.
a healthcare bill

Alaska health care providers sue to keep state rule mandating minimum payments for care

The state plans to end regulation on Jan. 1, citing upward pressure on prices, but some doctors say it will affect access to care.

Healthcare professionals consider Alaska’s potential for psychedelic therapies

Most psychedelic therapy is not legal in Alaska, except for ketamine therapy. But a panel of professionals discussed its future.
a homeless camp

Domestic violence is feeding Alaska’s homelessness crisis

Some Alaska shelters are building long-term housing to keep women safe.
a window that says Anchorage Police Department Anchorage Alaska

Anchorage Walmart shooting was murder-suicide, police say

Police say 29-year-old Saina Fa’atoafe shot a woman in a crime of domestic violence outside the Dimond Center Walmart Sunday, then took his own life.

Abortions in Alaska can only be performed by doctors. Is that about to change?

Only doctors can perform abortions in Alaska, according to a 50-year-old law. Planned Parenthood’s Alaska chapter argues that this limits access to abortion. So, the chapter filed a lawsuit against the state.
a speaker

Covenant House Alaska battling fentanyl crisis: 100 drug overdoses since July

Director Alison Kear says that in her 27 years at Covenant House, she’s never seen anything like the current wave of fentanyl overdoses.
toys

Alaska does not have enough housing to keep survivors of domestic violence safe

Advocates say they have the money to house survivors, but no place to put them.

Cleaning up Unalaska’s former military sites

The military has left a large footprint on Alaska. Much of it dating to World War II. But what happens after the military leaves a region?

The challenges of cleaning leftover military waste | Alaska Insight

Lori Townsend and her guests discuss the ongoing efforts to clean contaminated former military lands.
a teen

At a vigil for Anchorage’s homeless youth, a tale of how a teen found hope

During a Thursday vigil hosted by Covenant House Alaska, Ryna Lealai shared her story of escaping Anchorage's streets at age 17.
a stethoscope and a calculator

Monthly premiums for health insurance on the federal marketplace will rise 16% in Alaska next year

The spike comes after an 18% increase the previous year, which means prices have risen more than one-third in two years.
a courthouse

Alaska’s domestic violence council explores restorative justice methods in court sentencing

The state’s courts may use restorative justice programs, but those programs are not compatible with domestic violence cases yet.
salmon strips

Western Alaska salmon crisis affects physical and mental health, residents say

The message was emphasized on Friday at a field hearing held by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Bethel, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta's regional hub.

Trust land auctions fund mental health care in Alaska

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority is selling some of the 1 million acres of federal land it received under the Mental Health Act of 1956.
an exorcist

A conversation with Alaska’s exorcist

KCAW’s Meredith Redick sat down with Father Joseph McGilloway, the official exorcist for the Catholic Church in Alaska, to talk about his work.
a clinic

Kodiak clinic continues care after FBI search

State and federal officials were tight-lipped about Tuesday's search at Kodiak Island Ambulatory Care Clinic. Its owner says agents were looking for drugs.