Tanana Chiefs Conference: TCC Weekly Episode 53

Welcome to TCC Weekly, where each week we bring you the latest news from Tanana Chiefs Conference.

Welcome to TCC Weekly, I'm Bev Krupa, Community Health Aide Program Administrator at the CHAP Training Center. Here's a look at what's happening across the region. Last week, we celebrated another completion ceremony for a group of Community Health Aides. TCC would like to congratulate Lauren Thomas of Tetlin, Chance Schenck of Dot Lake, and Carissa McCarty, a Kat G itinerant. Their commitment to the communities, along with their hard work and dedication, is a powerful example of what it means to serve with compassion, resilience, and purpose.

Community Health Aides play a vital role in ensuring access to care across our region, often serving at the first point of contact for patients in their communities. We are proud to recognize their achievement and the important step they've taken in advancing health services across our tribal communities. This week, TCC administrative offices and Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center will be closed on both Thursday and Friday, July 2nd and July 3rd, in observance of Independence Day. Urgent Care will remain open from 8 AM to 6 PM, and patient shuttle services will operate from 5:30 AM to 6 PM. Regular business hours will resume on Monday, July 6th.

As always, triage nurses are available after hours and on weekends and can be reached at 907-451-6682. In other news, one of the new resources available at Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center is the community health vending machine. The machine offers free items such as naloxone kits, hygiene products, wound care kits, drug testing kits, safer sex supplies, and more. Using the vending machine is simple and private. Visitors complete a short survey, select the item they need, and receive their product.

The machine is available to everyone and provides a convenient, self-directed way to access important health resources without an appointment. The community health vending machine is located in Building A at Chief Andrew Weisig Health Center and is available Monday through Friday Monday, 8 AM to 6 PM. For more information, contact the Prevention Program at 907-451-6682, extension 2011, or you can email [email protected].

As health services at Tanana Chiefs Conference continues to grow and evolve, so does the need for our leadership structure that supports our strategic priorities and the healthcare needs of our communities. To strengthen leadership capacity and position health services for continued success, TCC has implemented a leadership realignment and appointed two experienced leaders to new executive roles. Jacqueline Bergstrom has been named Executive Director of Health Administrative Services. In this role, she will focus on healthcare advocacy, strategic partnerships, administrative leadership, and health finance strategy. Marilyn Anden has been named Executive Director of Clinical Health Services.

She will oversee the day-to-day operations of health services and continue leading efforts to enhance patient care and service delivery. Both Jacqueline and Marilyn bring years of experience, dedication, and leadership to their new positions. Please join us in congratulating Jacqueline and Marilyn in their new roles. At the National Congress of American Indians Mid-Year Convention in Memphis, Alaska Native leaders came together to deliver a unified message: protecting salmon requires collective action. Representatives from Tanana Chiefs Conference, the Association of Village Council Presidents, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and the Alaska Federation of Natives shared how declining salmon populations are impacting food security, cultural traditions, and Indigenous ways of life across Alaska.

Together they called on tribal nations across the country to stand with Alaska in supporting tribal stewardship, strengthening co-management efforts, protecting subsistence rights, and ensuring healthy salmon populations for future generations. The message was clear: when one tribe's way of life is threatened, it is a concern for all Indigenous peoples, and protecting salmon will require a collective voice and collective action. Thank you for listening. I'm Bev signing off for TCC Weekly. Tune in every Monday morning at 9:30 on KRFF 89.1 FM, or listen anytime on Spotify and YouTube.