A Prince of Wales Island health nonprofit was recently awarded about $275,000 to help develop a mobile health program. That’s a model of care that brings health services, like in-person checkups and disease monitoring, directly to patients.
The grant funding is part of about $250 million distributed to projects across Alaska through the Rural Health Transformation Program. That’s a federal initiative formed last year that looks to strengthen rural health systems around the country. The program has funded roughly 250 projects in Alaska this year.
Sandy Curtis is board president of the Prince of Wales Health Network, the nonprofit looking to develop the mobile integrated health initiative. She said the funding will help them research health needs on the island through outreach and partnerships.
“So at this point, what we are doing is we are just looking to see if this is something that’s even feasible for our island,” Curtis said. “We’re pretty sure it is; otherwise, we wouldn’t have pursued the funding.”
Although they’re still fleshing out how the program will look, Curtis said it could be island-wide. But she said the organization is taking its time to develop the initiative so that it’s implemented in a way that makes sense for each rural community. That will include surveys.
They’re also working closely with Ketchikan’s mobile integrated health program to better understand that model of care.
“We’re really excited about this opportunity, and we really feel like if we can make this work over here, this is going to really be transformational for Prince of Wales Island, as far as the future of healthcare on this island,” Curtis said.
Other Alaska communities, like Juneau and Anchorage, have formed their own mobile integrated health programs. The model of care can help reduce strain on limited hospital resources and drive down healthcare costs.
A number of other Prince of Wales organizations also saw funding through the federal rural health program. Whale Tail Pharmacy, in Craig, was awarded over $300,000 to meet healthcare gaps on the island. And the Ketchikan Wellness Coalition received roughly the same amount to expand health advocacy for Filipino families in Ketchikan and on Prince of Wales Island.
Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.
