History

Southcentral Foundation History

Southcentral Foundation is an Alaska Native-owned, nonprofit health care organization serving nearly 70,000 Alaska Native and American Indian people living in Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and nearby villages in the Anchorage Service Unit.

Incorporated in 1982 under the Tribal authority of Cook Inlet Region, Inc., Southcentral Foundation is the largest of the CIRI nonprofits, employing more than 2,700 people in more than 80 programs.

Southcentral Foundation’s Vision is a Native Community that enjoys physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness; its Mission is to work together with the Native Community to achieve wellness through health and related services. The organization has developed and implemented comprehensive health-related services to meet the changing needs of the Native Community, support individuals and families on their wellness journey.

Southcentral Foundation’s first compact agreement under Public Law 93-638 began in 1984. The compact agreement provided dentistry, optometry, community health representatives and injury control services. A funding request to provide substance abuse treatment service was added in 1987.

Gradually, Southcentral Foundation increased its compact agreement capacity within the Anchorage Service Unit so that by late 1994 it was administering nearly half the primary care services for Alaska Native people.

The Alaska Native Medical Center opened its doors in May 1997. Earlier that year, Congress had passed Public Law 105-83, which included a section that enabled Alaska Native people to obtain ownership and management of all Alaska Native health care services.

In 1997, Southcentral Foundation completed the assumption of ownership and management of primary care and other programs located in the Anchorage Native Primary Care Center. Since the beginning of the assumption of services, Southcentral Foundation instituted significant philosophical changes and other changes in the design and administration of these programs. Southcentral Foundation instituted a total system-wide transformation of care, increasing the quality and adaptability of programs —and more importantly—the accountability of providers and customers alike. Alaska Native people are in charge of designing and delivering health care.

Alaska Native Medical Center History

In 1999, Southcentral Foundation and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium signed an agreement to take over ownership and management of the entire Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC).

As the parent organizations, Southcentral Foundation and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium worked together to establish a Joint Operating Board to set policy and direction for ANMC. The Southcentral Foundation Board of Directors and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Board of Directors both appoint representatives to serve as voting members of the Joint Operating Board. Also, the Southcentral Foundation President/CEO, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium CEO, the ANMC Administrator, and the ANMC Medical Director serve as non-voting members. This approach ensures unified operation of the health care delivery system.

The mission of ANMC is “working together with the Native Community to achieve wellness by providing the highest quality health services for all Alaska Natives”—is unique in that it combines the mission and vision of Southcentral Foundation and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

Lastly, whereas most Southcentral Foundation programs are offered to residents of Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and villages within the rural Anchorage Service Unit, the jointly owned and managed Alaska Native Medical Center serves the entire Alaska Native and American Indian population of the state – an estimated 108,000 people (based on U.S. Census data).