A new clinic building in Fairbanks, Alaska, opened July 19 for the Alaska Native population, adding special services. including an ASC, urgent care, radiology audiology and more.
The service provider, Tanana Chief Conference, has been the key healthcare provider for Alaska Natives in Fairbanks since the 1970s.
The provider operated out of a bowling alley before renting out two floors in Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
By 2012, it opened a standalone clinic near the hospital.
Now, the clinic has received a 108,000-square-foot, two-story expansion.
More services will be added and phased in over the next year.
The provider services 41 native villages in Alaska, as well as clients living in Fairbanks. It serves a 235,000-square-mile region, or 37 percent of the state, the equivalent of one clinic serving a state a bit smaller than Texas.
“To us, this isn't just more floor space. It's to carry on a tradition of our people taking care of our people. It was really important to the cultural committee that this expansion represent that long history of care and love in our communities,” Carlene Stern, MD told KUAC News.