June 15, 2007
YKHC President/CEO Gene Peltola and Denali Commission Co-Chair George Cannelos get started on building Hooper Bay’s new Subregional Clinic.
Breaking Ground
Subregional Clinic to bring healthcare closer to home in Hooper Bay
A new subregional clinic is becoming a reality for Hooper Bay. It will be the fifth such facility in the YK Delta region, joining those in Aniak, Emmonak, St. Mary's and Toksook Bay.
On May 14th, George Cannelos, Federal Co-Chair for the Denali Commission, and Gene Peltola, President/CEO for YKHC, joined William Naneng and Elmer Simon, community leaders for Hooper Bay, to mark the ground breaking moment.
"I was privileged to dig the first symbolic shovel-full of tundra for the new subregional clinic with Gene Peltola, which will provide a new level of primary health care for Hooper Bay and nearby villages," Cannelos said.
Cannelos visited the community and other Delta villages last month along with members of the National Rural Health Association who were in Alaska for the Association's annual convention.
We are very grateful to the people of Hooper Bay and to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation for hosting an important group of health providers from the lower 48 states. They were amazed by Hooper Bay's isolation, and dazzled by everyone's hospitality," Cannelos said.
Construction of the 14,000 square foot facility begins this summer. It is expected to open in October of 2008. The SRC will serve the communities of Hooper Bay, Scammon Bay and Chevak, a total estimated population of 2,600 residents.
The $8.1 million facility received 80 percent funding from the Denali Commission, the state of Alaska's federal funding partnership designed to provide critical utilities, infrastructure and support for economic development in Alaska.
"With the superior effort of the Denali Commission under the guidance of George Cannelos and the expertise of his staff, specifically, Health Program Manager Denali Daniels, the residents of Hooper Bay and the surrounding villages will soon enjoy the full health services of a new subregional clinic," Peltola said.
The development of SRCs in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region is part of a larger initiative to bring health care closer to the villages. Many of the services found at the Bethel Hospital are now available at SRCs, which are staffed with mid-level providers and Health Aides. Patients can receive preventative and urgent care, diagnostic review, physical exams, prenatal care, minor surgery, laboratory tests, x-rays, dental care and medications all close to home.