Tribal Health Consortium takes over Alaska facility

The Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage recently changed hands from federal government ownership to the local Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. The campus dates back to the 1990s, and the Indian Health Service officially owned the building since it opened – although tribal organizations have operated programs and services at the center.

A significant shift that will accompany the change in ownership involves funding opportunities to maintain the building and modernize its facilities, according to Alaska Business Magazine. Under the new ownership, the Tribal Health Consortium can now pursue federal facility-cost funding that’s available to eligible tribally owned or leased facilities. Additional financing and philanthropic tools are now on the table too, according to the magazine’s reporting. 

Even before the Tribal Health Consortium took ownership of the Anchorage medical center, the consortium invested $462 million in the building – the largest investment in the hospital’s history. That investment included $257 million to create additional spaces for patients in the emergency services department, as well as a drive-through ambulance entrance and dedicated spaces for patients with mental health and substance use concerns. 

The Tribal Health Consortium also proposed a second phase of improvements that would address the hospital’s overall capacity with the addition of three floors of inpatient beds, room conversions to provide private inpatient spaces and the construction of a helipad.