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Project Name: Health Center Program (H80)
Applicant Title: ILIULIUK FAMILY AND HEALTH SERVICES, INC.
Abstract Text: Project Title: Service Area Competition Organization Name: Iliuliuk Family and Health Services, Inc. Address: 34 Lavelle Court, PO Box 144, Unalaska, AK 99685-0144 Project Director: Noel Rea, CEO Submission Contact: Shannon Savage, Dir of Administration; xxx-xxx-xxxx (m), xxx-xxx-xxxx (f), xxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx Web Address: www.ifhs.org Requested Funds: $1,859,402 (Section 330, CHC) Service Area ID # 141 | City: Unalaska | State: AK Unduplicated Patients in 2025: 4,158 SERVICE AREA: Iliuliuk Family and Health Services (IFHS) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit community health center, funded under §330 and providing comprehensive healthcare services to the people of Unalaska, Alaska. The IFHS mission is “to provide quality integrated health care and to promote health and well-being.” IFHS, formed in 1972, has been an §330 grantee since 2002. IFHS’s isolated service area is home to the largest fishing port in the U.S., Dutch Harbor, with a permanent population of approximately 5,000. As such, IFHS’s service area, like much of coastal frontier Alaska, depends on commercial fishing and the city’s population doubles from 5,000 to 10,000 with seasonal workers arriving during seafood harvesting seasons. IFHS operates a single 20,000-square-foot fixed Health Center in Unalaska, built in 1992, and is the only primary, urgent, and emergency care provider in Unalaska. They serve all permanent and seasonal residents, as well as those from surrounding areas, regardless of race, ethnicity, or ability to pay. PROPOSED SERVICES: IFHS requests funding to continue providing an array of integrated primary care and enabling services, with dental care and behavioral services provided via referral, to low-income residents and seasonal workers in the City of Unalaska on Unalaska Island and the neighboring Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Islands, about 800 air miles west of Anchorage in frontier Alaska. IFHS services are provided in culturally and linguistically appropriate ways that include providing interpreter services and employing many bilingual staff. POPULATION SERVED: According to the 2022 US Census Update, the permanent population includes 23.1% white, 8.7% African American, 9% Alaska Native, 38.6% Asian, and 15.8% Hispanic residents (totals > 100% because the Census considers that Hispanics may be of any race). In addition to the permanent population, seasonal workers come from around the world, with most from Africa, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe; many with limited English language proficiency. In 2022, 3,042 unduplicated patients received 6,457 service encounters. Almost all patients are low-income and non-Alaskan Native, reflecting the service area’s socioeconomic characteristics. IFHS rents a space in its Health Center to a clinic that serves the small population of Alaskan Native residents of Unalaska. BARRIERS/NEEDS: While there is a small Tribal clinic for Alaskan Natives, which rents space in the IFHS Health Center, no private physicians practice in the service area, and the nearest hospital and specialty care providers are in Anchorage, 800 air miles away at a cost of $2,100 roundtrip. IFHS’s patients face such health issues as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, accidents, etc. Seasonal workers, however, often have a wider array of health issues, including a higher prevalence of communicable diseases and traumatic injuries due to harsh living conditions and injuries incurred while working. Some have never previously had a medical exam. CONCLUSION: With oversight by an 11-member community-based Board of Directors, CEO Noel Rea leads a team of dedicated clinicians and support staff. IFHS will continue to provide a full range of family practice primary care services in a patient-centered medical home including prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of acute and chronic illness; chronic disease management; and referrals and follow-up for specialty care. In 2025, IFHS will serve 4,158 unduplicated patients.