May 15, 2007
YKHC Behavioral Health Clinicians are partnering with the Alaska National Guard to help families needing support. From left: Crewmember Rob Pike; FAC Coordinator Kristie Harrison; Clinicians Ryan Wheeler, Lew Lowery and Guy Guy; Pilot Nyle Harrison and Crewmember Vince Salzbrun.
For more than a year, the National Guard Family Assistance Center has partnered with YKHC's Behavioral Health Services visiting families of deployed soldiers throughout the Delta.
Focused on providing family support, each month the team travels in a Blackhawk helicopter to meet with families and children impacted by the deployment that sent more than 130 local troops across the globe.
The Alaska National Guard Family Assistance Center serves as a resource and referral service to support families of the military. Primary services consist of crisis referral, TRICARE and military benefits information, emergency assistance, legal information, deployment training and family support. Kristie Harrison leads the Family Assistance Center in Bethel, with sister offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Nome.
In March of 2006 when Delta residents were alerted for this deployment, the FAC spent several months connecting with local resources for family support.
"YKHC is a great resource for families of the AKNG," Harrison said. "We realized that we could serve the families better if we took mental health support out to the villages with us."
YKHC Behavioral Health assigned a team of clinicians and joined the AKNG FAC to travel and provide mental health support. So far the team has traveled to Toksook Bay, Nightmute, Atmautlauk, Kasigluk, Nunapitchuk, Chefornak, Quinhagak, Kwethluk, Kwigillingok, Tuluksak, Newtok, Akiak, Akiachak, Napaskiak, Eek, Hooper Bay, and Scammon Bay.
Visits vary depending on the needs in the community.
"We try to arrange our travel to fit the needs of the people," Harrison added. Meetings are held at community halls, at the church, and even at the schools.
Connecting with families and establishing a support network are the biggest part of the mission. The visits provide an opportunity to share information on the resources available from the military and other organizations, but also allow for one-on-one consultation between the clinicians and family members affected by the deployment.
Commenting on the moral and emotional support for families Harrison says, "We get to see the strength one has during hardships as well as the opportunity to help if we see someone struggling."
Laura Baez, Behavioral Health Administrator for YKHC, emphasizes the value of the AKNG partnership. "This partnership has helped to provide behavioral health services to families in the YK Delta affected by the loss," says Baez. "I am grateful that we can partner to provide this family support in the comfort of their communities to better serve their needs."