Happy Holidays!
In August, leadership traveled to Alakanuk, Emmonak and St. Mary’s and met with the Tribes, employees and customers. We worked to recruit employees to fill our community and behavioral health aide positions and shared exciting updates about our work, some of which is outlined below.
NEW ELDERS HOME EXPANSION
Late last year, I announced YKHC’s pursuit of a new joint venture with the US Indian Health Service to expand the YK Elders Home. The joint venture program is a nationwide, competitive construction program that we applied for in the spring of 2025. If successful, it would double the size of the facility and increase its residents from 18 to 36. In July, we were notified that our proposal was selected for the second and final phase of evaluation and expect notification soon. The Elders Home has a waitlist and doubling our capacity is the next right step towards achieving our vision for the Yukon-Kuskokwim region and our customers.
NEW EMPLOYEE HOUSING
Workforce and housing issues will always be a challenge but the opening of our new 132-unit staff apartment complex in the summer of 2026 will greatly alleviate our daily recruiting challenges at the Elders Home and across all YKHC departments. As we all know, the lack of housing in Bethel has been a significant challenge to recruiting and retaining new staff.
NEW VILLAGE HEALTH CLINICS
In October, we broke ground on the construction of a new clinic in Mertarvik. Earlier that day, we also broke ground on the expansion of our existing clinic in Kwigillingok.
We are continuing construction of new clinics in Anvik, Oscarville and Stony River. We recently finished the Lime Village clinic expansion. We have plans to renovate and double the size of our supply warehouse and build a daycare facility for employees. However, due to upcoming changes in the State of Alaska’s Medicaid program, these improvements have been put on hold until we know how the national changes passed by Congress will affect the State’s program. Excluding the proposed expansion to the Elders Home, we currently have over $150 million of new infrastructure in design or under construction.
These significant investments in new infrastructure are an unparalleled growth happening nowhere else in rural Alaska. They will greatly improve access and quality across the YKHC health system, and thus, ultimately the health of our People. YKHC is only able to undertake this historic journey towards improved quality due to our unrelenting commitment towards excellence and our superior financial strength.
TYPHOON HALONG EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Later in October, I traveled twice to Kipnuk, Kwigillingok, as well as the shelters at the Alaska Airlines and Egan Centers to visit survivors of Typhoon Halong. We hosted Sen. Dan Sullivan, Sen. Lyman Hoffman, Rep. Nellie Jimmie, Speaker Bryce Edgmon, and other state and federal officials at YKHC for disaster coordination meetings. After setting up the Bethel shelter and visiting the Anchorage shelters, I strongly advocated for all shelter residents to quickly receive state/federal financial assistance and to be swiftly transferred into hotels, B&B’s and longer-term housing like apartments. That was largely accomplished by October 31 by the State emergency operations center.
Since October, the daily, local state/federal emergency operations center has been hosted by YKHC at the Bethel hospital. YKHC helped lead and coordinate the local emergency operations center with other local agencies until the beginning of November and has since transitioned out of that role. YKHC assisted the Alaska National Guard and Coast Guard and evacuated more than 100 residents from affected villages to safe places of their choosing with more than 50 YKHC charters. We shipped more than 22,000 bottles of water, 12,000 ready-to-eat meals and other supplies throughout the region. Most of that was accomplished within the first five days after the storm.
IN APPRECIATION & GRATITUDE
Countless YKHC personnel played an important part in our emergency response to Typhoon Halong. We had medical, behavioral health, construction and remote maintenance teams who worked and slept in affected villages. Many others shipped supplies throughout the region and set up and managed the Bethel shelter, its travel, meal preparation, laundry and cleaning operations. We continue to lead water and sewer rebuilding efforts.
A special thank you to the Alaska National Guard and Coast Guard for their heroic and life-saving missions during the storm and those that continue today in order to help ready survivors’ homes for winter. The professionalism, urgency and compassion shown by the Guard, President Trump, Governor Dunleavy, State of Alaska emergency operations center, FEMA, Alaska Division of Forestry, American Red Cross, AVCP, AVCP RHA, City of Bethel, Lower Kuskokwim School District, airline/cargo operators, Samaritan’s Purse, Team Rubicon, local churches, businesses and many others is commended.
I thank YKHC leadership, all 1,600 employees and especially, each YKHC employee who helped survivors of Typhoon Halong. Your dedication and devotion towards achieving our mission and vision is applauded.
While recovery and repatriation from Typhoon Halong will continue through the months and years, if Alaskans continue to act with the same resolve as we did with this emergency response, much more can be accomplished in the future. Although many lost much during this tragedy, each of us still has much more to be thankful for during this holiday season.
| Sincerely, |
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