> HEALTH SERVICES
The Department of Health Services
Vision
Healthy People across Generations
Mission Statement
TCC Health Services, In Partnership With Those We Serve, Promotes And Enhances Spiritual, Physical, Mental And Emotional Wellness Through Education, Prevention And The Delivery Of Quality Services.
Health Services was established in 1973. Between 1973 and 1984, Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) contracted with the Indian Health Service (I.H.S.) for a number of non-medical programs and in 1984 contracted with the I.H.S. to manage Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center (CAIHC), including medical, dental, pharmacy, nursing, business office, medical records, and public health nursing. Health Services manages the health delivery system for the villages of Interior Alaska under the terms of Public Law 93-638. In partnership with villages, Health Services also operates and manages smaller satellite clinics in 28 villages. In January 2003, (AAAHC) reviewed Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center, Counseling Center, Dental Clinic and Eye Clinic and received a three-year accreditation of these facilities. It is the mission of TCC Health Services to provide culturally-sensitive, quality medical care that is fiscally responsible. The following is a list of programs within Health Services.
- Ch'eghutsen Program is a collaborative partnership between TCC, Fairbanks Native Association and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Ch'eghutsen is designed as a system of care for seriously disturbed Alaska Native children and youth in the Interior.
- Community Health Aide Program (CHAP) delivers primary health care and health education at the village level through Community Health Aides/Practitioners with the skills and resources to meet the medical needs of village residents. The CHAP program had 12,800 patient encounters.
- Community Health Representative (CHR) provides a local, paraprofessional resource on basic concepts of health care, disease control, communication skills and health planning. CHR's provides these services on a referral basis from the primary health care provider in these respective villages.
- Dental Center provides comprehensive dental care to beneficiaries including emergency preventative, and elective services. They offer a special clinic for children. Specialty services are provided in pediatrics, orthodontics, prosthodontics, and oral surgery. The Dental Clinic had 17,371 patient encounters. I.H.S. awarded the Dental Clinic the Outstanding Dental Service Unit in Alaska .
- Eye Center provides primary eye care services including routine pediatric and diabetic exams, treatment of eye infections, glaucoma, other eye diseases, and the fitting and dispensing of eye glasses and contact lenses. The Eye Clinic served 6,524 patients.
- Health Safety Educators travel to villages to raise awareness of health risks and solutions. They give presentations at schools and health fairs on a wide range of subjects, including injury prevention, CPR, nutrition, outdoor survival, cancer, and HIV/AIDS, and offer classes in first aid. They also install smoke detectors in homes.
- Hunik Zoo is a monthly publication for kids printed during the school year. While entertaining, the pages aim to educate and warn kids about the dangers of drug abuse. The Hunik Zoo has been published since December 1983 and in 2003 distributed 10,500 issues monthly.
- Office of Environmental Health (OEH) is a village-based tribal technical assistance program dealing with issues such as infectious disease investigation and water plant emergencies. OEH provided training courses focused on utility management and water plant operation, as well as held rabies vaccination clinics that provided over 1,500 rabies vaccination.
- Old Minto Recovery (OMRC) provides treatment services for alcohol and other drug dependencies. The program operates for a maximum of 15 people in a traditional setting. OMRC served 91 clients and families and achieved a 76% completion rate.
- Total Quality Management (TQM) supports the development of a costumer-driven system of care and service that includes staff training, healthcare organization accreditation, credentialing, patient advocacy, strategic planning, measures for quality improvement, and board approved policies.
- Upper Tanana Alcohol Program (UTAP) provides screening outpatient services including assessments, court consultation, counseling, continued care, outreach, crisis intervention, referrals, education and prevention activities and support for village-based counselors in the Upper Tanana Subregion. The UTAP program had 958 in-person contacts.
- Women, Infants, and Children Program provides healthy foods, nutrition information, counseling, health screening and referrals and served 1,275 clients.
- Chief Andrew Health Center (CAIHC) is an ambulatory care center. CAIHC provides outpatient services to beneficiaries in the Interior. The medical specialties include family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, women's health, and urgent care. Home care, pharmacy, and mental health services are also provided. This past year urgent care was offered evenings, weekends, and holidays.
- Admissions and Registration collects insurance and demographic information and approximately 1,000 new patients were registered.
- Bertha Moses Patient Hostel provides temporary lodging to village beneficiaries that have appointments in Fairbanks . There are eight full-size apartments and three private rooms. Each room is equipped with a bathroom and kitchen.
- Counseling Center provides outpatient mental health services and case management to children and adults. Mental health services include psychiatric evaluations for medication, medication management, psychotherapy and referral to other community providers. Case management is provided to severely or chronically mentally ill adults. The Paul Williams House is also available through the Counseling Center to provide temporary housing for clients traveling from the villages and short-term, supervised housing for chronically mentally ill persons that are clinically stable.
- Clinical Nursing assesses patients, provides patient information and teaching materials, and measures clinical outcomes. Clinical Nursing has registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, and medical appointment clerks. In addition, the nursing staff accompanies and assists the physicians during village field trips.
- Community Health Nursing (CHN) improves the wellness of beneficiaries by providing outreach and offering services to those who might be experiencing the greatest risk to their wellness. CHN keeps patient registers for cancer, high cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, pap smears, mammograms, elders, prenatal women, hepatitis and HIV for active case management and trend analysis. Staffing consists of advanced nurse practitioners, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, a village liaison, a fetal alcohol syndrome coordinator, children with special needs coordinator, and nursing clerks.
- Health Records compiles and maintains approximately 30,000 records, and provides patient confidentiality in the release of information and coding of medical information.
- Medical Services provides general medical care and internal medicine by family practice physicians, an Internist, and mid-level physician assistants. Medical providers are fully credentialed, licensed, and board-certified. Medical Services also provides medical field visits to the villages. The daily average of patients seen range from 80-130 walk-in patients, 100 appointment patients and 20 hospital inpatients.
- Pharmacy fills over 115,000 prescriptions annually for both Fairbanks and village patients, making it the busiest pharmacy in Fairbanks . The pharmacists work closely with the doctors and mid-level practitioners to provide patients with the most appropriate medications. This was the first Native pharmacy in the state to bill electronically.
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