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.)

Lisa Murkowski

U.S. Senate committee visits Bethel to hear about salmon crisis

Sen. Lisa Murkowski will lead the hearing, set for 1 p.m. Friday at Bethel's Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. offices.
a political rally

Abortion rights win big in 2023 elections, again

Ohio voters approved a ballot initiative Tuesday putting protections for reproductive health decisions in the state constitution.
bicycles

Alaska pays millions to respond to domestic violence. Advocates want millions to prevent it.

They say significant increases in prevention work and community level support are necessary to slow the rate of domestic violence.
A trail covered in snow. The foreground is darkened while lights illuminate the trail further ahead.

Dealing with the dark | Talk of Alaska

We discuss darkness, and finding ways to enjoy the short days of winter, on this Talk of Alaska.

PrEP prevents HIV transmission and it’s free. Why can’t some Alaskans get it?

Robin Lutz, executive director at the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association, or 4-As, said the organization has been talking with people newly diagnosed with HIV. She said Alaskans face many barriers to accessing PrEP.

Why are more Alaskans in the Interior contracting HIV?

Health officials are working to better understand why Fairbanks and the Interior have seen a cluster of new HIV cases over the past two years.
A woman sits at a desk speaking with two people on a television screen.

Resources for rural child care providers | Alaska Insight

On this episode of Alaska Insight, host Lori Townsend and her guests discuss what rural communities need to make child care effective and affordable.
a woman holds out her hands in front of a brain poster

Domestic Violence in Alaska: Advocates link Alaska’s high rate of traumatic brain injury with domestic violence

Alaska has the highest rate of deaths from traumatic brain injury in the nation and among the highest rates of domestic violence.
a grocery store

Wait for food stamps continues, but could prompt legislative changes

The state is working through a backlog of thousands of applications for SNAP benefits, after Alaskans waited months for help buying food.
canned food

Addressing the SNAP backlog | Talk of Alaska

How is the food stamp backlog being addressed and what are potential answers for long term stability?
a vigil

Bethel residents light candles for victims of domestic violence

The Tundra Women's Coalition hosted its final event marking this year's Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a Thursday candlelight vigil in Bethel.
a building

Many of Juneau’s social services are now under one roof

The Teal Street Center, which opened this year in Juneau's Mendenhall Valley, offers its clients easier access to services and its agencies economies of scale.
a woman checks on a dog in a vet's office

Alaska’s rural animal shelters are struggling to keep up: ‘Everywhere has no room’

Animal shelters around the state have seen a recent uptick of stray and surrendered animals.
An emergency sign outside a hospital.

Birth and death rates fell in Alaska last year; rates of death from alcohol and overdose remain high

The report also shows that deaths from tobacco use and rates of pregnant women using tobacco declined, as did the teen birth rate. 
Deb Haaland

Haaland leads historic day of healing at totem raising for Alaska boarding school survivors

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland helped to raise a healing totem pole in Anchorage, the nation's first dedicated to boarding school survivors.
Several syringes on a table

Alaska sees fast increase in early flu cases; experts urge vaccination

Alaska’s chief medical officer, Anne Zink, is urging people to get the flu vaccine this month to protect themselves against an early season. 
students with hats scoop salmon from a white bucket.

Alaska Native youth preserve traditions by preserving traditional food at Elders and Youth Conference

Young people from around the state learned how to filet and prepare salmon at the conference in Anchorage on Tuesday.
a podium that says AFN on it

Talk of Alaska: AFN’s 2023 convention

Lori Townsend speaks with Alaska Federation of Natives leadership about their 2023 convention.
teens

Suicide-prevention program teaches Alaska students how to identify their own strength

Lower Kuskokwim School District students are pitting cultural and personal strengths against adversity.

The future of Yukon River salmon | Alaska Insight

The Yukon River has been a majestic icon of power, beauty, and for generations, a sustainable source of food. Salmon reliably returned to the Yukon to provide a stable source of healthy, wild food for communities along its length. But in recent years, those reliable runs have been beleaguered by warming waters, food scarcity and disease, causing closures that have halted long standing traditions for many families. On this episode of Alaska Insight, host Lori Townsend is joined by Gabe Canfield, policy coordinator for the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association, and Holly Carroll, in-season manager for the Yukon River for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to discuss the outlook for the years to come, and the steps that can be taken to protect this vital resource.