Health Aides of Alaska
Care Rooted in Community. Supported by a Statewide System.
Alaska’s Health Aide Programs are built on a proven model that expands access to high-quality care in rural and remote communities. By combining local workforce development with structured training, supervision, and a coordinated referral network, the model strengthens both individual health outcomes and long-term community capacity.
Care Rooted in Community
At its foundation, the Health Aide model invests in local people to care for their own communities. Community Health Aides, Dental Health Aides, and Behavioral Health Aides are residents who live and work where they serve. They understand the language, culture, history, and daily realities of their patients.
This connection builds trust, reduces stigma, and encourages people to seek care earlier — before concerns become crises. It also creates meaningful career pathways and strengthens community leadership, ensuring that the health system grows from within rather than being imported from the outside.
Structured Training & Supervision
Health Aides are trained, certified, and supported within clearly defined scopes of practice. They are part of regional care teams within the Alaska Tribal Health System and operate under established supervision and referral structures.
Through standardized education, competency-based certification, and ongoing oversight, the model ensures care is safe, effective, and culturally responsive. This structured approach expands Alaska’s health workforce while maintaining quality and accountability across regions.
Connected Through a Regional Referral System
Local care is supported by a coordinated “hub and spoke” system that connects village clinics and sub-regional sites to larger regional hub communities with hospitals, mid-level providers, and physicians. When care needs exceed what can be provided locally, patients are referred seamlessly through this network.
This structure allows most care to happen close to home while ensuring access to advanced services — up to the highest level of specialty care at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. The result is a unified statewide system designed to keep care accessible, coordinated, and responsive.
Learn More About the Health Aide Programs
Behavioral Health Aide Program
Behavioral Health Aides strengthen communities by providing culturally responsive mental health and substance use services that reduce stigma and expand access to care.
Community Health Aide Program
Community Health Aides bring lifesaving primary care to Alaska’s most remote communities, ensuring families can access trusted, high-quality medical care close to home.
Dental Health Aide Program
Dental Health Aides transform oral health across Alaska by delivering prevention-focused, community-based care that reduces disparities and improves lifelong outcomes.