Update for December 19, 2009
Grand Camp ANB/ANS Joint Executive Committee Meeting. On Saturday, I provided an update to a joint meeting of the ANB/ANS Grand Camp Executive Committee. The update included our work toward the resolutions adopted by Grand Camp and submitted to the SEARHC Board of Directors in October 2009. Members of the Joint Executive Committee provided feedback on services and expressed concerns about housing and transportation at the Alaska Native Medical Center.
Community Healing Circle. We are hosting a Community Healing Circle in Sitka this coming weekend in response to indications of high stress in the community. The Community Healing Circle is Saturday, December 26th, at 6:30 p.m. at At Kaník Hít (the Community Health Services building on the Sitka Campus) Transportation is offered. SEARHC Gunaanastí (Bill Brady Healing Center) Treatment Supervisor, Harry Bradley will facilitate. Refreshments and homemade soup will be provided. Talking Circles have been used in Native American cultures for thousands of years. Their purpose has been to share personal feelings, thoughts and beliefs.
CFSW Co-Located with CCTHITA in Juneau. SEARHC hired a Community Family Service Worker (CFSW) that will be co-located with staff at the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA). Ben Didrickson will assist SEARHC clients that are also seeking services from CCTHITA through the downtown Juneau location. We hope to reach more of our clients through this approach.
Safety Shop Offers Yaktrax to Stay Active. The Safety Shop has offered the tribal organizations a bulk rate of $10 if the Yaktrax are distributed to Tribal elders. It has been a very successful partnership and will help keep our elders safe while they increase their physical activity during the winter months. Many elders stay home during inclement weather, out of fear of falling. It is important for everyone to remain physically active. It reduces the risk of many chronic diseases, it keeps the muscles limber, and helps the elder continue their independence. We are very excited that the tribes purchase the Yaktrax and distribute them. SEARHC is their partner in health.
In FY 2009, Organized Village of Kake and Sitka Tribe of Alaska purchased multiple Yaktrax from SEARHC's Safety Shop and distributed them to their Tribal elders. This year, FY 2010, Klawock Cooperative Association and Chilkoot Indian Association are purchasing a supply of Yaktrax to distribute to their elders.
IHS Awards Health Management Grant for Hoonah. SEARHC received an Indian Health Service (IHS) Tribal Management grant to support our recent services in Hoonah. This funding will allow us to develop a health management structure that integrates the Hoonah Health Center into the consortium operations. Objectives of the project include: implement a quality assurance and improvement program, implement financial and revenue cycle management systems, and diversify and strengthen the operational budget.
Flu Prevention Reminder. Southeast Alaska residents can help prevent the spread of flu by washing their hands frequently with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (especially after coughing or sneezing). Other ways to prevent the spread of flu include coughing into sleeves or a tissue instead of coughing into hands, staying home from work or school when sick with flu-like symptoms (don’t go back to work or school until at least one full day has passed without a fever, with no fever-reducing medication), and using sanitary wipes to wipe down high-traffic surfaces such as computer keyboards, stair railings, doorknobs, telephones and light switches.
Updated information on the flu can be found online at www.pandemicflu.alaska.gov (state site), or at www.flu.gov/ or www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ (national sites). SEARHC also has information posted about H1N1 flu at www.searhc.org/h1n1/.
Just a reminder. . . SEARHC frequently brings in traveling medical specialists to hold specialty clinics at its various facilities, saving you the expense and inconvenience of flying to Anchorage or Seattle for services not available in Southeast. Some SEARHC medical providers who work at larger facilities make regular trips to our village clinics to provide specialty services that aren't normally available in those communities. All specialty clinics, except for medical field trips and specified dental clinics, must be referred through a SEARHC provider. Links to our upcoming specialty clinic schedules are at http://www.searhc.org/common/pages/specialtyclinics/index.php.
Regards,
Roald.
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