SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC)

1 Full Time Funded Position

General Information

Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) is a nonprofit, Native-administered health consortium established in 1975 to represent the health care needs of Tlingit, Haida, Tsimpshian and other Native and rural-dwelling people of Southeast Alaska. Through resolutions from eighteen tribal governments, SEARHC functions as a Public Law 93-638 (Indian Self-Determination Act) tribal organization. SEARHC is governed by a Board of Directors made up of elected Native representatives from each of the 18 communities served by the Consortium. SEARHC’s Mission: “To provide the highest quality health services in partnership with Native people.”

SEARHC is often the sole health care provider in smaller Southeast communities where no other care is available. Southeast Alaska, with a total of 73,302 year round residents, consists of 45 communities ranging in size from 30,711 (Juneau) to 19 (Port Alice, on Prince of Wales Island.) The communities vary in their ethnic and economic diversity. Alaska Native people make up 20% of the population of SE Alaska; however, in most of the rural villages, Alaska Natives make up the majority of the population. In this proposal, the term Alaska Native is used to refer to all Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimpshian people of SE Alaska as well as other indigenous people who have moved to the area.

Telebehavioral health (TBH) video-conferencing services provided access to all behavioral health services offered by Haa Toowoo Naakw Hit – Mental Health Department in Sitka, the principal site for the APA internship, and many of the services of the Behavioral Health Division. Within the Division, Mental health providers are located in 8 villages – Sitka, Angoon, Kake, Klawock, Hydaburg, Juneau’s Front Street Clinic, Haines, and Klukwan. These villages currently receive psychiatric, mental health and substance abuse treatment services via TBH.

TBH provides psychiatric, mental health and addictions treatment service delivery to patients at remote locations; and, consultation from delivery points in Sitka at Haa Toowoo Naakw Hit and through the Behavioral Health Department of the Ethyl Lund Medical Clinic in Juneau. In addition, supervision, education, and administrative activities occur via live, interactive videoconferencing to clinical care providers. Functions such as treatment team planning, case consultation, and one-to-one supervision are achieved via TBH. TBH Educational opportunities to care-providers in remote villages occur monthly via training seminar series, grand rounds, and through special programming. Community outreach occurs as needed.

The Internship Experience

SEARHC Behavioral Health Division offers a full array of comprehensive behavioral health, community-based prevention, residential co-morbid disorders/addictions residential treatment for both adults and adolescents, critical incident stress management, outpatient mental health services and inpatient mental health consultation. Services offered by the Haa Toowoo Naakw Hit Mental Health Department in Sitka, the principal site for the APA internship, include psychiatric and psychological assessment, psychiatric medication management, risk assessment, multi-modal psychotherapy, psychological and neuro-developmental assessment, community outreach and education.

Contact Information

Site Training Director:
RD Boardman, Ph.D
boardman@searhc.org
Web address: www.searhc.org

Mailing address:
RD Boardman, Ph.D
222 Tongass Avenue
Sitka, AK 99835