(129) stories found containing 'alaska department of health & social services'
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 129
By 
E-cigarette tax legislation caught up in cloud of questions
Legislation to impose a state tax on e-cigarettes and vaping devices appears headed to next year’s legislative work list. Lawmakers raised multiple questions about the bills at two committee hearings last week, and the Legislature faces a May 17 a...
Bill would ban conversion therapy; aimed at protecting Alaska's LGBTQ youth
Levi Foster of Anchorage said it’s taken him decades to recover from the “emotional abuse and manipulation” he experienced while he was subjected to conversion therapy, the largely discredited practice that attempts to change a minor’s gender...
State trying to fix food stamp delays, acknowledges people get frustrated when they're hungry
A month after a major backlog in Alaska’s food stamp application processing surfaced publicly, state officials are scrambling to hire emergency workers to address delays reaching crisis levels for Alaskans who depend on the federal program to feed t...
State sued over monthslong delays in issuing food stamps
Ten Alaskans are suing the state, saying it failed to provide food stamps within the time frames required by federal law. The complaint, filed Jan. 20 in Superior Court in Anchorage, said the state had failed to provide needed services and “has subje... Full story
State Senate leader lists school funding, teacher retention as priorities
As the Alaska Legislature’s 2023 session approaches, a state Senate leader last Thursday highlighted the potential benefits of that body’s newly formed bipartisan majority coalition. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel said the nine Dem... Full story
Federal spending bill includes multiple provisions for Alaska
WASHINGTON — The $1.7 trillion federal spending package includes hundreds of millions of dollars in appropriations for projects specific to Alaska and enacts legislation that will directly affect the state. “There is literally no part of our state th...
Class gives tips on staying safe in bear country (hint: carry pepper spray)
It's safe to assume that people can avoid bear encounters if they stay out of a bear's natural habitat. Since that's likely not to happen in Southeast, a BearFest safety course offered advice on stayi...
Reduction in food stamp benefits will hit Wrangell households
More than 100 Wrangell households will see their food stamp payments reduced beginning in September as a result of the official rescinding of the state’s public health emergency order on July 1. As of May, 125 Wrangell households were p...
Project works to put opioid overdose kits at seafood processing plants
Following the death of her son to an opioid overdose in January, Sitka state public health nurse Denise Ewing and her husband, Gary Johnston, sought to prevent others from suffering the same loss. Named after her son, Gabe Johnston, Project Gabe...
State will end COVID-19 health emergency order
The state’s COVID-19 public health emergency order put in place 15 months ago will be rescinded on July 1, announced Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum. “The COVID situation has mellowed out to where our systems ar...
CDC report points to higher COVID death rate among Natives
A new report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides the most comprehensive look so far at the disproportionate toll COVID-19 is taking on Alaska Native and American Indian people living in Alaska. Overall, Alaska Native...
Federal panel to focus on murdered and missing Native Americans
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Nearly 40 law enforcement officials, tribal leaders, social workers and survivors of violence have been named to a federal commission tasked with helping improve how the...
State expects to spend millions to guard against cyberattacks
The commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Revenue was called into a special meeting last month to discuss a problem: The Permanent Fund Dividend Division was under cyberattack. In a short period of time, more than 800,000 attempts were made to g...
Cybersecurity focuses on risk prevention and response
It only takes a fraction of a second for a school, health care center, municipality or others to be the victim of a cyberattack. It could take months or even years to recover, if at all. Brittani Robbins, executive director of the chamber of commerce...
Office of Children's Services caseworker transfers to Wrangell
For the first time in more than a decade, Wrangell has a state child protection services caseworker. Jennifer Ridgeway was the Office of Children's Services worker in Petersburg from October 2021...
Legislators unlikely to block split of state's largest department
JUNEAU (AP) — A proposal from Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration to split in half the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services — the state’s largest department — appears likely to take effect later this year. House and Senate leaders s...
SEARHC and fire department both providing free COVID-19 self-test kits
The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium is providing free COVID-19 at-home test kits on a first come, first served basis. A Feb. 7 post on SEARHC's Facebook page said it is providing two...
Legislature again considers taxing, restricting e-cigarettes
For the third year in a row, lawmakers are considering legislation that would impose a tax on e-cigarettes, such as vaping devices, intended to make it more expensive and harder on young people to buy the products. “This bill is about protecting our...
Wrangell nears record with surge in COVID-19 cases
COVID-19 cases in Wrangell are surging at their fastest rate of the nearly 2-year-old pandemic, with 67 new infections since Christmas weekend, as of Tuesday evening’s borough report. Of those, 37 cases were recorded between Friday and Tuesday. T...
State will stop paying for walk-up COVID testing at end of month
The state has decided to stop offering walk-up COVID-19 testing at Alaska’s larger airports, and to stop paying for similar free testing operations in communities statewide, including Wrangell, effective Jan. 31. The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health...
State medical officer says COVID 'not done with us'
Greater access to COVID-19 home testing kits, changes to the state statistics dashboard, and the arrival of the Omicron variant in Alaska were among the topics covered by Dr. Anne Zink in a report to the Sitka Assembly on Dec. 14. “I know the last t...
First case of Omicron variant reported in Alaska
The first known case of the Omicron variant in Alaska was reported on Monday, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. The variant case was identified in an Anchorage resident. “The case was identified today through g...
Out-of-state health workers help at Wrangell hospital
Wrangell Medical Center this week welcomed eight temporary out-of-state health care workers assigned to the hospital under a state-financed program to bring as many as 473 professionals to help relieve staffing pressures across Alaska. The state is s...
Alaska starts assigning first 100 out-of-state health care workers
The first 100 out-of-state health care workers have started arriving in Alaska to help at medical facilities overwhelmed with record patient counts due to surging COVID-19 infections. The state health department has contracted to bring on 470 health...
Employers have trouble hiring; new programs respond to help
It's a familiar storefront sight throughout Wrangell: "Help Wanted" signs placed in business windows. For various reasons, employers are having trouble filling positions. "We couldn't find someone to...
