Mat-Su weighs $818K in EMS health grants as borough memo limits how money is used

The Mat-Su Borough Assembly is scheduled to take up three federal rural health grants Tuesday, Nov. 17, that would bring $818,410 to the borough's emergency medical services. A borough memo says no clinical work or direct patient care will be done under the two larger grants during the grant period.

The money comes from the federal Rural Health Transformation program, passed through the Alaska Department of Health, and must be spent by June 30, 2027.

The smallest grant, $72,787, would pay for a paramedic exchange with University Hospital EMS in Newark, New Jersey. Mat-Su paramedics would see intubations, penetrating trauma and cardiac arrests that rural crews rarely see, while Newark medics would learn prolonged field care and cold-weather work in the Valley. "A paramedic working a rural shift may go weeks or months without a critical airway or major trauma, yet must perform flawlessly when one occurs," the borough wrote in its application.

The Assembly introduced that grant Oct. 20 in a 7-0 vote. Its public hearing is at the Assembly's regular meeting Tuesday.

The two larger grants, $398,605 for "Mobile Health Infrastructure Modernization" and $347,018 for a "Community Health Response System," are set for introduction Tuesday, with a public hearing Dec. 1.

The borough's application for them describes a mobile integrated health program with three parts: case management for people who call 911 often, coordinated with Mat-Su Regional Medical Center; a substance-use response; and a paramedic-led behavioral-health crisis team that could take patients to True North Recovery instead of the emergency room.

The administration memo, signed by Borough Manager Michael Brown, Emergency Services Director Ken Barkley and Borough Attorney Nicholas Spiropoulos, says the program aims "to reduce high 911 utilization." It also says the grant narrative includes activities "that the Borough will not actually be implementing due to the limited powers the Borough has as a second-class borough."

A resolution before the Assembly says the money may buy EMS equipment, a design for a future ambulance and satellite communications for areas without cell service. The community money would build "a framework" for services outside the cities. The borough would not operate the service or set its protocols, training or credentials, and the equipment may not be used for "routine healthcare, community-health visits, recurring patient check-ins."

The limits trace to August 2025, when the Assembly unanimously accepted limited health powers from Houston, Wasilla and Palmer so it could spend opioid settlement money. The memo for that ordinance listed services the borough cannot provide, including general health and social services, direct medical care and case management.

Borough records do not say who would run the program the application describes or whether the state would let money shift away from work the borough now rules out. New Assembly members are seated Nov. 23, before the Dec. 1 hearing.