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Rural alaska community action program partners with visit healthcare.

Apr 14, 2021 | COVID-19 , Healthcare , News , Nonprofits

© Oxana Medvedeva | Dreamstime.com

Vulnerable individuals and families can receive accessible COVID-19 tests and vaccines through a partnership between Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL CAP) and Visit Healthcare.

As the number of COVID-19 cases among those experiencing homelessness in Anchorage rose last summer, RurAL CAP’s Supportive Housing Director Rob Marx searched for resources to keep our tenants and community safe. He was soon put in contact with Visit Healthcare. Since then, Visit has administered weekly tests at all five of RurAL CAP’s Supportive Housing facilities and has coordinated with RurAL CAP’s Outreach Specialists to test unsheltered individuals in Anchorage.

Visit has been in the healthcare business for more than thirty years helping to care for patients with tens of thousands of medical providers. Beginning in early 2020, seeing a need for more COVID-19 testing options across the United States, Visit pivoted its resources and efforts to solely concentrate on the dispersion of COVID-19 testing. In Anchorage, they have worked with underserved populations at locations like retirement homes, Bean’s Café, and homeless shelters.

Given the success of regular testing, RurAL CAP coordinated with Visit when vaccines became more widely available. Now, Supportive Housing tenants at RurAL CAP facilities have had the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to twenty-eight unsheltered individuals.

“We are so grateful for our partnership with Visit,” says Marx. “Their services have tremendously impacted our COVID-19 response, helping keep our clients and community safe.”

Visit representative Barbara Brena says, “RurAL CAP’s staff have been integral to our success. They have helped us reach and engage with various vulnerable populations. We are truly grateful for the coordination that has made this possible.”

As the world continues to recover from the impact of COVID-19, National Community Action Agencies like RurAL CAP will continue to offer critical support to those affected by the pandemic.

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Testing and Vaccines

For more information on the Municipality of Anchorage’s COVID-19 response, click here .

To see most current vaccination clinics, please go to www.anchoragecovidvaccine.org .

To see most current covid testing sites, please go to www.anchoragecovidtest.org .

We can bring the COVID-19 vaccine to you! Host a mobile vaccination clinic at your site: Register here At your home: Visit anchoragecovidvaccine.org to register for an in-home vaccine appointment. Appointments are limited and currently available to people who reside in east and west Anchorage. There are plans to expand the program to other Anchorage areas in the near future. Call us at 907-227-3561 if you need additional assistance.

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RurAL CAP Partners with Visit Healthcare

April 14, 2021

Vulnerable individuals and families receive accessible COVID-19 tests and vaccines through a partnership between Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. (RurAL CAP), and Visit Healthcare .

As the number of COVID-19 cases among those experiencing homelessness in Anchorage rose last summer, our Supportive Housing Director Rob Marx searched for resources to keep our tenants and community safe. He was soon put in contact with Visit Healthcare (Visit). Since then, Visit has administered weekly tests at all five of our Supportive Housing facilities and has coordinated with our Outreach Specialists to test unsheltered individuals in Anchorage.

Visit has been in the healthcare business for over 30 years helping to care for patients with tens of thousands of medical providers. Beginning in early 2020, seeing a need for more COVID-19 testing options across the U.S., Visit pivoted its resources and efforts to solely concentrate on the dispersion of COVID-19 testing. In Anchorage, they have worked with underserved populations at locations like retirement homes, Bean’s Café, and homeless shelters.

Given the success of regular testing, we coordinated with Visit when vaccines became more widely available. Now, Supportive Housing tenants at our facilities have had the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to 28 unsheltered individuals.

 “We are so grateful for our partnership with Visit,” said Marx. “Their services have tremendously impacted our COVID-19 response, helping keep our clients and community safe.”

Visit representative, Barbara Brena, in turn stated “RurAL CAP’s staff have been integral to our success. They have helped us reach and engage with various vulnerable populations. We are truly grateful for the coordination that has made this possible.”

As the world continues to recover from the impact of COVID-19, we will continue to offer critical support to those affected by the pandemic.

This story was featured by: Alaska Business Magazine

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Anchorage Health Department changes COVID-19 testing process, closing Loussac Library site with little notice

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Visit Healthcare testing sites, which thus far have been used by the Municipality of Anchorage to administer COVID-19 tests to residents, are slowly being changed over as Capstone Family Medicine based out of Wasilla is coming in to take them over.

“We’ve started the transition that we had discussed before on the testing locations going to a (Health Resources and Services Administration) model versus a city MOA-funded model,” said Anchorage Health Department Director Joe Gerace when he spoke with the Anchorage Assembly Health Policy Committee on Wednesday.

This means that the city is switching from a city-funded model to a federally funded one. Anchorage Assembly member Kameron Perez-Verdia said the change in test providers can help the city recoup some money from the tests themselves, and will not cost the community anything because right now the city is paying $98 per test.

“We’ve been paying $98 per test and that that cost has come from the city,” Perez-Verdia said. “Now understanding those costs are reimbursable through FEMA in most cases and so that was the expectation we had, is that we were spending that to provide tests, understanding we would get reimbursed by FEMA.”

Alaska’s News Source spoke with Gerace on Friday, when he explained more about the change.

“The decision was made back in July to start looking for some alternate options due to the fact that Visit (Healthcare) would not drop their rate from a pre-pandemic rate to a currently more common rate, which is the HRSA rate,” Gerace said.

Gerace said the HRSA rate is $65 per test while Visit Healthcare’s is $98 and to date, the city has spent more than $34 million just on testing. Perez-Verdia said earlier this week there are some cases that the city won’t be reimbursed by FEMA, but he said knowing they can bill for the costs of the test is a positive for the city.

“We are moving away from a city-paid model,” Gerace said. “It was costing us, at peak time, it was costing us $445,000 a week for testing. And so we’re doing what should have been done the whole time which is what FEMA really wants, which is first you try to get insurance to pay, second HRSA, and then third, the municipality would operate in a payback situation with FEMA.”

When people get tested for COVID-19 at a Capstone location, Capstone may ask for your insurance information if you have insurance, but you will not receive a bill from Capstone and uninsured patients can also get a free test.

“The person who has insurance, their insurance has some kind of stipulated rate with Capstone,” Gerace said. “If that fails, they then apply that person’s information to the HRSA program. The HRSA program will then compensate Capstone for the testing. If that fails, Capstone basically takes a loss.”

Gerace said since Capstone has begun operating in Anchorage, the company has had $1.3 million in unreimbursed tests. Also, the city has no say when it comes to Capstone’s operations due to them being a private vendor and not contracted by the city, but if needed, Gerace said the city still has funds available to re-open some clinics.

For now, the city is switching over many of their sites to Capstone. The city closed the testing site at the Loussac Library, one of the city’s busiest, on Wednesday in order to transition that location to a site on C Street to be run by Capstone. When Alaska’s News Source reached out to the Anchorage Health Department for an interview about the changes on Thursday, spokesperson Robert McNeily replied that the health department had “widely noticed” the new testing site location via social media.

The Loussac Library put out a poster on its door, and made posts to Facebook and Twitter late Wednesday notifying people about the location change. The Anchorage Health Department, however, made one post to its social media accounts on Wednesday after the Loussac location had been relocated, which said “Stay up to date with the most relevant coronavirus information including new testing sites.” The public posts did not mention that the Loussac Library location would be closing or that it had been moved to C Street.

The health department’s actual website for finding testing locations does include an alert telling people about the site change. There was no information on social media sites run by the Anchorage Health Department as to the reason for the change or specific revised locations.

This change also comes with Capstone taking over the Visit Healthcare location in Eagle River, the Loussac replacement site at 4810 C St., and a new testing site in Alaska Park on Spenard Road. The existing Muldoon and Changepoint locations will make the transition from Visit Healthcare to Capstone in the coming weeks, Gerace said Wednesday in the health policy committee meeting. Capstone also already operates testing sites for the state at the University of Alaska Anchorage and at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

Perez-Verdia said he wished the city had communicated these changes more effectively.

“I think it’s a failure of the administration to not have communicated this better,” Perez-Verdia said. “I think it’s really important that when we change things so significantly like these testing sites that we let the public know in advance, and that we do as much as we can to get it out so that people know where to go and where to get the services they need.”

Find more information regarding getting tested for COVID-19 in the municipality here.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with additional information from the Anchorage Health Department.

Copyright 2021 KTUU. All rights reserved.

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OPINION: Every minute matters: why we need an ER in South Anchorage

A Girdwood Fire Department ambulance travels northbound at Windy Corner on Turnagain Arm on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

It’s clear to me, both as an Anchorage resident and healthcare professional, that our community needs more capacity to treat medical emergencies. Alaska Regional’s proposal for a South Anchorage ER will increase overall capacity while bringing care closer to home for thousands of people who live, work and play in South Anchorage. As I expressed in last week’s public meeting hosted by the Alaska Department of Health, this project is a clear win for our community and will save and improve lives.

Currently, South Anchorage residents face long travel times to reach emergency care facilities. The proposed emergency room would reduce this by 15 to 20 minutes. In a medical emergency, every minute matters — especially when the brain or heart is deprived of oxygen. Just four minutes without oxygen can cause irreversible damage. The sooner patients receive emergency care, the better their chances of survival and recovery.

During last week’s public comment period, we heard powerful testimony from a stroke survivor who underscored the importance of timely care. Strokes are a leading cause of death and disability in the U.S., occurring every 40 seconds, with one in six deaths attributed to them. Research shows that 1 million to 2 million neurons die per minute during a stroke until the brain is re-perfused. For stroke victims, quicker access to care can mean the difference between full recovery and lifelong disability. An ER in South Anchorage would provide quicker access, greatly improving outcomes.

As the stroke program director at Alaska’s only comprehensive stroke program, I see the devastating effects of delayed care daily. The time from stroke onset to the start of treatment is crucial. Currently, South Anchorage patients must travel long distances to emergency rooms in the U-Med district, adding precious minutes that can make the difference between recovery and permanent disability. A new ER in South Anchorage could save up to 20 minutes, offering faster, life-saving treatment.

Some have erroneously argued that a smaller facility can’t provide the same level of care as a larger hospital. However, the primary role of an ER is to deliver immediate, life-saving intervention. The proposed facility would do exactly that — providing rapid assessment, stabilization and, if necessary, transfer to a higher-level care center. This would save time and also serve an underserved area with vital emergency services.

Moreover, this facility would help alleviate pressure on Anchorage’s existing ERs, which are frequently overcrowded. At the time of last week’s meeting, Alaska Regional Hospital’s ER was the only one open. This isn’t an isolated incident; high patient volumes often lead to extended wait times, delays for ambulances, and temporary closures. By adding more emergency beds in South Anchorage, we can reduce these pressures and ensure faster care for all.

Delayed care often results in severe, long-term disabilities that require costly treatments, increasing the burden on both patients and taxpayers. Quicker response times and better access would reduce costs, investing in the long-term health of our community.

It is my personal and professional opinion that an ER in south Anchorage will be beneficial to all residents. It will improve outcomes and provide patients with a choice of emergency care closer to their homes. In a medical emergency, time is tissue, and this facility will save and change lives. Every three minutes and 14 seconds, someone dies from a stroke. I am asking the Alaska Department of Health to approve this project to decrease the chances of Anchorage residents adding to this statistic.

Please join me in supporting ARH’s South Anchorage ER. Visit southanchorageer.com .

Kevin Myrick, RN, is the Director of Trauma and Comprehensive Stroke Center at Alaska Regional Hospital. He lives in South Anchorage.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com . Send submissions shorter than 200 words to [email protected] or click here to submit via any web browser . Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here .