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.)

Alaska Legislature establishes psychedelic task force for FDA-approved therapies

The task force will help with legislative, licensing and health insurance policies to make any federally-approved therapies accessible.
an apology

Alaska lawmakers support push to investigate, document forced assimilation in boarding schools 

The widely supported resolution supports a bill championed by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Congress.
a dog

Rabies prompts new CDC rules for bringing dogs to the U.S.

Owners must confirm dogs either have a valid rabies vaccine or haven't been in a country where rabies is endemic in the last six months.
a utility room

A utility room under Mertarvik’s public school is full of raw sewage

Excrement has been backing up into the building for months, but the tribal council that owns it had no idea how bad things were until recently.

Former head prison doctor replaces Anne Zink as Alaska’s chief medical officer

Dr. Robert Lawrence is a family medicine doctor who got his start in rural Alaska.
an emergency room

How do you help patients who show up in the ER 100 times a year?

For decades, nonprofits, health insurers and hospitals have been trying to solve the problem of the people who need the emergency room again and again.
Healthcare workers paint tiles at a carnival as a part of nurses week.

Celebrating Nurses Week | Line One

Join host Dr. Jillian Woodruff on this Line One, as she and her guest discuss the science of skin, and how to care for it.
a courthouse

Alaska tribal health consortiums are legally immune in many cases, state Supreme Court says

The decision on sovereign immunity affects several of the state’s largest-private sector employers and could have broad implications.
Wooden white crosses dot a grassy park.

Last year was Alaska’s deadliest on record for opioid overdoses

Alaska lost 342 people to opioid overdose in 2023 and had the highest increase in deaths per capita in the nation.
a drift net

Feds approve disaster declaration for 2022 Kuskokwim salmon fisheries

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's disaster declaration covers the Kuskokwim River failure of chinook, chum and coho fisheries in 2022.
A finger applies a skin cream to bare skin.

Unveiling common skin conditions | Line One

Join host Dr. Jillian Woodruff on this Line One, as she and her guest discuss the science of skin, and how to care for it.
Cathy Giessel

Alaska Senate considers plan that would allow teens to independently seek mental health care

An amendment from Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, would lower the age for obtaining behavioral health care to 16.
a homeless camp

Supreme Court appears to side with an Oregon city’s crackdown on homelessness

Justices heard an Oregon city's appeal of lower court rulings that it's "cruel and unusual" to fine or jail people on public land if no shelter is available.
a panel

Relocation of eroding Alaska Native village seen as a test case

The Newtok-to-Mertarvik transformation is the most advanced of several village relocation efforts prompted by climate change.
a walrus

Scientists, Alaska Native leaders say the Arctic faces a growing crisis from plastic waste

The authors of a new report will join representatives from more than 180 other countries to negotiate a United Nations plastics treaty.
a midair refueling

Air National Guard changes in Alaska could affect national security, civilian rescues

The Alaska Air National Guard flew 159 civilian medical rescue missions last year, often during vicious storms that kept air ambulances grounded.
wildfire smoke

Wildfire smoke contributes to thousands of deaths each year in the U.S.

Two new studies show the unseen toll smoke is taking on people across the country. Climate change is likely to make the problem even bigger.
A picture of a building.

Medication is an important tool for people struggling with alcohol addiction in Alaska

There are more options than ever for treating alcohol use disorder in Alaska, including several medications that can make it easier for some people to reduce or stop drinking.
a man

Former Southwest Alaska VPSO, pastor arrested in Texas on child sexual assault charges

Monte LaVelle Chitty, 62, was arrested April 5 in the Florida case. Former members of his Cold Bay church say the charges fit a familiar pattern.
a mother and son

Suicides make up majority of gun deaths, but remain overlooked in gun violence debate

Suicide is the leading cause of gun-related deaths in the United States. But it's often only an afterthought in the public debate about gun violence.