A L A SK A | 2015 CO M M U N I T Y BEN EFI T REP O R T
Cares
Providence
In 2015, Providence Health & Services Alaska provided more than $41.7 million in free and
discounted care so that the uninsured and underinsured could receive health care. This charity
care is only part of Providence’s total community benefit in Alaska, which totaled $70.2 million.
Lisa Caldera, program director at the Brother Francis
Shelter, with John Hammarstron, a patient recuperating
at the shelter.
Continuing our Mission serving the poor and vulnerable
As health care continues to evolve
in Alaska and throughout the rest
of the country, our commitment to
provide care to all, especially the
poor and vulnerable, is as important
as ever. The Sisters of Providence
who arrived in Nome 114 years ago
brought a Mission of compassionate
service to Alaska, and we are
honored to continue that Mission today.
As is the case with any important endeavor, the help
of others is key to our ability to provide care in the
communities we serve. Providence Health & Services
Alaska is blessed to have community partners who
share in our work and our commitment to help those
in need.
Each year, we dedicate a portion of our earnings
toward “community benefit.” Working alongside our
partners, we strive to address the needs of Alaskans by
improving access to affordable health care, educating
people about healthy behaviors and preventive care,
and providing assistance to the homeless and those
living in poverty. All of this is made possible by donors,
caregivers, volunteers and many other Alaskans who
share a commitment to our Mission.
This year’s Community Benefit Report includes stories
that illustrate how Providence works with our partners
to identify needs and provide care to communities
throughout Alaska.
We feel privileged to continue the legacy of the
Sisters of Providence and their commitment to provide
compassionate care. A heartfelt thank-you to those
who join us in this endeavor; your partnership makes
it possible for us to provide service to the poor and
vulnerable in Alaska.
Sincerely,
Bruce Lamoureux, chief executive
Providence Health & Services Alaska
As people of Providence, we reveal God’s love for all, especially the poor and
vulnerable, through our compassionate service. – Providence Mission
Creating healthier communities, together
The Providence Mission reaches out
beyond the walls of care settings to
touch lives in the places where relief,
comfort and care are needed. Our
community benefit spending is about
addressing not just the patient and
family but the total health of the
community. Through programs and
financial support, Providence’s
community benefit connects families
with preventive care to keep them
healthy, fills gaps in community services
and provides opportunities that bring
hope in difficult times. These efforts are
guided by an assessment of the needs
of our community. (Read a summary of
the community needs assessment at
alaska.providence.org.)
We collaborate with social service
and government agencies, charitable
foundations, community organizations,
WHERE WE SERVE
universities and many other partners to
identify the greatest needs and create
solutions together. In 2015, Providence
provided $70.2 million in community
benefit in Alaska. Through these
programs and financial support, we
strengthen the underlying health of our
communities and open doors for our
neighbors in need.
As a not-for-profit Catholic health care
ministry, we embrace our responsibility
to provide for the needs of communities
we serve – especially for those who are
poor and vulnerable. Providing care to
everyone, regardless of their ability to
pay, is at the core of the Providence
Mission. In 2015, Providence provided
$41.7 million in free and discounted care
so the uninsured and underinsured could
access health care.
Providence Health & Services Alaska
continues a tradition of caring started
by the Sisters of Providence more than
110 years ago during the Nome Gold
Rush. Today the care and services
Providence delivers spans from birth
to end of life, to care for the whole
person. Our comprehensive scope of
services includes acute care, physician
clinics, long-term and assisted living,
palliative and hospice care, and home
health. Our ministries are in Anchorage,
Eagle River, Kodiak, Palmer, Seward
and Valdez.
Giving to our communities
Unfunded
portion of
governmentsponsored
medical care
Free and
discounted
care for
patients in
need
$3,720,898
$41,738,268
Providence Health
& Services Alaska
2015 Community benefit spending
Subsidized
services
Education
and research
programs
Community
health, grants
and donations
Total cost
of care &
services
donated
in 2015
$4,466,063
$8,617,811
$11,731,747
$70,274,787
FREE AND DISCOUNTED CARE FOR PATIENTS IN NEED:
Financial assistance for those who are uninsured or underinsured
or otherwise unable to pay for their health care
SUBSIDIZED SERVICES:
7%
Clinical and social services provided despite a financial loss because it
meets an identified need that is not met elsewhere in the community
5%
12%
EDUCATION AND RESEARCH PROGRAMS:
Subsidies for medical residency programs, nursing and other education,
and medical research
$70.2
17%
Total in millions
COMMUNITY HEALTH, GRANTS AND DONATIONS:
59%
Free services, such as patient education, health screenings, immunizations
and support groups, as well as donations to community partners
UNFUNDED PORTION OF GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED MEDICAL CARE:
Difference between the cost of care and what is paid by state and
federal government – does not include Medicare
Tax status benefit
$80M
$70.2
$66.9
$60M
$40M
$21.4
$20M
As a not-for-profit organization, Providence Health & Services Alaska received $66.9 million
in federal, state and local tax exemptions in 2015. However, we provided $70 million back
to the community, or $3.35 million in excess of our exemptions. In addition, there are taxes
from which we are not exempt and must pay in the normal course of operations, just as any
business in the community would. These totaled $21.4 million in 2015 and included taxes on
non-exempt properties and payroll taxes.
$0M
Tax Benefit
Tax Paid
Total
Community Benefit
O U R C O R E VA L U E S : R E S P E C T | C O M PA S S I O N | J U S T I C E | E X C E L L E N C E | S T E WA R D S H I P
2
Funding the future
UAA NURSING PROGRAM HELPS CREATE ALASKA’S CAREGIVERS OF TOMORROW
Rachel Leaman hangs on every word
nurse Brian Guvenir, RN, says, scribbling
in her notepad his instructions and
advice. They stand outside the room of a
patient in the Progressive Intensive Care
Unit at Providence Alaska Medical Center,
where Guvenir gives the daily bedside
report. The report includes a medical
assessment as well as details on who the
person behind that door is – what she
likes, her occupation, her level of family
support, even her favorite food. Leaman,
a University of Alaska Anchorage nursing
student, writes it all down, absorbing
in those critical moments the key to
becoming a truly effective caregiver.
“If there is one thing they can get out of
us, it’s to be critical thinkers,” Guvenir
says. “We are teaching them that we not
only treat the disease but we also treat the
person.”
To help the program achieve its goal
of producing high-quality caregivers,
Providence Health & Services Alaska has
provided annual funding for the program’s
Anchorage and Kodiak campuses.
Providence contributes $250,000 for the
Anchorage campus, and its $50,000
contribution in Kodiak allows students
there to learn on site while completing
their nursing degrees both at home and in
Anchorage.
“We are incredibly grateful to Providence
for all of the support they have given us,”
says Barbara Berner, ANP, director of the
school of nursing at UAA. “They help to
keep the program running.”
Berner says that since Providence’s support
began in 2005, UAA’s nursing program
has doubled its number of graduates to
roughly 200 per year. In particular, the
program has started pinpointing Alaska’s
greatest areas of need for caregivers and
has expanded to include such rural areas as
Kotzebue, Bethel, Nome and Sitka. While
still based in Anchorage, nursing students
can split time while living and working in
up to 14 rural communities.
“We have about a 12 percent vacancy
rate for nurses in rural areas, and a 7-to-8
percent rate in Anchorage,” she says. “By
allowing our students to practice in these
rural areas, we are connecting them to
places that need them.”
On Kodiak Island, access to health care
is critical. Providence’s support there
allows aspiring nurses to learn via
distance education, on-site mentoring
and classroom instruction delivered by
instructors both locally and in Anchorage.
“Providence has been very instrumental in
providing funding for the program,” says
Kathleen Stephenson, associate professor
of nursing at UAA who helps oversee
rural programs, including Kodiak, which
is one of the largest. Providence’s support,
Stephenson says, helps pay the salary of
its on-site instructor, Margie Mete, as well
as provide technical support for distance
learning.
“Some work is done at Providence and
some in other hospitals in the state, in
communities where they live, which is
crucial.”
Stephenson says she especially likes when
she has students whose goals are to
ultimately stay in their home communities.
“We recently had a student who is coming
in from the Bush who has already decided
she wants to work in pediatric oncology,”
Stephenson says. “This girl is destined to
be a pediatric oncology nurse. We called
Providence and asked if they would help
and they said ‘yes,’ and we were able to
set it up. They’ve been very generous to
the students.”
Leaman, the nursing student in PAMC’s
Progressive Care Unit, is one of nine
young women who began their on-site
rotations in late February. They gather
in Providence’s cafeteria to wait for their
Anchorage instructor, Barb Anderson, to
arrive and share stories about their “case”
files – assignments on specific patients they
were to have studied the night before. A
sense of excitement radiates at the table
as the students finally get to practice what
they’ve been studying for so long.
“Sometimes I feel a little nervous, but it’s an
exciting nervous,” says Samantha Trainor, a
nursing student. “I’m ready to finally take
that big step out of the classroom and into
the real world.”
“The students from rural areas travel
to Anchorage and spend two to three
semesters at UAA,” Stephenson says.
Left to right:
Funding the future: Margie Mete, associate professor of the University of
Alaska Anchorage Nursing Program in Kodiak, instructs her class in the
emergency department at Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center.
Barbara Anderson, UAA Nursing instructor, teaches nursing student Stacy
McCully at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.
Nursing student Caryn Hafer listens at a morning meeting before rounds
with fellow students at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.
COMMUNITY VOICES
To view the web version of the 2015 Community Benefit Report, please visit our website at alaska.providence.org.
3
Stepping in the right direction
SQORD PROGRAM GETS KIDS MOVING WITH AN INTERACTIVE, ONLINE PLATFORM
Dan Pemble’s physical education
students at Baxter Elementary School
run, jump and squeal with laughter. As
music plays, they do exercises that are
written on small sheets of paper and
randomly drawn from a cart set up at
one end of the room.
Every move these kids make is being
recorded. Each time an arm shakes or
a stride is taken, the devices they are
wearing record it and earn them points
that turn everyday play into friendly
competition. It’s a program designed to
encourage healthy habits in Alaska’s kids.
“We are careful not to call these
trackers,” says Providence Regional
Director Micaela Jones of the Sqord
Active Play Program devices that are
being distributed to schoolchildren in
Anchorage, Seward and Kodiak. “It’s
the kids’ version of a Fitbit, and it scores
their movement, it doesn’t track it. What
we find is that the more points the kids
earn, the more they want to move.”
The program is funded by a $320,000
investment from Providence Health &
Services Alaska, a $20,000 contribution
from Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield
of Alaska and coordination among
Providence staff, Healthy Futures,
Alaska’s Department of Obesity
Prevention and Control, and school
districts in Anchorage, Kodiak and the
Kenai Peninsula. Researchers at University
of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute for Social
and Economic Research (ISER) also are
involved, conducting a long-term study
to examine the Sqords’ efficacy on
reducing childhood obesity. The goal
is not only to increase physical activity
in children, but also to encourage the
desire to take part in physical activity
in children. According to the state, 31
percent of Alaska’s high school aged
children are overweight or obese. The
goal of the Sqords is to help reduce that
statistic.
At the beginning, Jones says, she had
boxes of Sqords and nowhere to start.
So, naturally, she looked to her own
children.
“I decided, ‘I’m going to strap them on
my kids and see what they think,’” she
says, “and what happened very quickly
is that they actually wanted to play
together. They were getting points for all
their movement and it became a game.”
From there, the project blossomed.
The program went from a handful of
Anchorage schools to 35, and then
another 17 schools came on-board.
Today there are approximately 65
Anchorage schools whose students
have been given Sqord devices and who
are charting their activity. There are
four more schools in Kodiak and one
in Seward participating as well. In total,
more than 9,700 units are in circulation.
The Sqord works like a mobile video
game – part Wii gaming system, part
exercise tracker and part motivator.
Each user has an identification number
and avatar – their online persona that
they create at the click of a button.
When they start playing, the device
automatically records their movements,
accumulating 3.5 points per step. Users
also collect “sqoins,” a form of pretend
money that kids can use to buy virtual
accessories for their avatars. Each school
is assigned its own community, so users
from one school can compare their
activity to another school.
At Baxter, sixth-grader Keiara Alexander,
11, darts around the room balancing a
plastic ball on a paddle as part of the
class’s lesson on racquet sports.
“I think of the Sqord as a way to keep
you healthy,” she says. “It keeps you
honest. My parents like that I have it
because they know it makes me want to
do more. I’m in cheerleading, dance and
soccer, so I always have lots of points.”
Pemble says providing the Sqords has
been simple for him because Jones is
managing the maintenance, support and
upkeep of the devices. As a busy P.E.
teacher at two Anchorage schools, he
knows he wouldn’t have time otherwise.
All he and his students have to do is
wear them, and download their activity
at their leisure or on portable devices
set up throughout the schools for those
who do not own computers at home.
“We knew that these teachers already do
so much, it absolutely couldn’t happen if
they had to do one more thing,” Jones
says. “We couldn’t ask them to take over.”
Perhaps the best part of the program,
Jones says, is ISER’s long-term study to
see if the Sqords really make a difference.
After all, that is the ultimate goal: to
reduce childhood obesity and create
healthy habits that will last a lifetime.
“This is bringing technology and
movement in the same conversation,
and that’s a step in the right direction,”
she says.
Left to right:
Stepping in the right direction: A student at Northstar Elementary School in
Finding their voices: A student takes advantage of on-site behavioral health
Kodiak gives his Sqord activity tracker a good workout on the school playground.
services at Begich Middle School in Anchorage.
Dan Pemble, a physical education teacher, displays his Sqord with students at
Baxter Elementary School in Anchorage.
Denise Brakora, BSN, NCSN, school nurse at Begich Middle School, and Heather
Ireland, program director for the clinic, in the school examining room.
Students exercise with their Sqord activity trackers at Baxter Elementary School in
Anchorage.
4
Finding their voices
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROGRAM HELPS MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS THRIVE
When Providence Health & Services
Alaska helped fund the setup of on-site
behavioral health services at one of
Anchorage’s middle schools, its goal was
to provide access to affordable health care
for young people struggling with mental
health issues. A year later, the results have
proven to be even more successful than
organizers could have imagined.
“This is a place where they can talk about
things that they can’t talk about with
other people,” says Volunteers of America
clinician Pam Shepherd, who sees patients
each week. “A lot of times that is all they
need; someone to listen to them. It helps
them see that people are seeing them
beyond their problems.”
That is the program’s goal, says Heather
Ireland, program director for the clinic.
“These kids have true mental health needs,”
Ireland says. “This gives them a convenient
and affordable way to get help without it
interfering with their school days.”
Last year, Providence provided $50,000 for
the startup at Begich Middle School after
seeing success with a similar program at
Clark Middle School that has been in place
since 2010. The Clark program focuses
on treating physical ailments such as ear
infections and colds, but Ireland says that
when children there were referred for
counseling services, the follow-through
oftentimes didn’t happen.
“That’s when we thought it might be
a good idea to offer behavioral health
services,” she adds.
At Begich, qualifying participants receive
services on a sliding-fee scale. The services
provided help them deal with issues
ranging from anger management to
depression to anxiety. Here, kids can begin
to heal while missing minimal class time.
The on-site location also has freed up
working parents, Ireland adds. Most
parents are grateful for a place where their
child can receive help without having to
leave school grounds or take away from a
parent’s time on the job.
On a recent Thursday morning, Shepherd
prepares to meet with one of her patients.
She sets up in a room near the front office
that has been transformed into a private
refuge. A large whiteboard is covered
with phrases and tips on how to cope
with emotions, and a table in the corner
is circled with wobbly stools, designed as
such to help jittery kids settle their nerves.
Sometimes, the kids might just talk; other
times, they may write down their emotions.
Games and other activities – such as a
sand-garden to help calm nerves – line
the shelves, accessible if the moment
commands it.
Providence’s Mission to serve the poor
and vulnerable is exemplified in the work
that goes on here. It pinpoints a small but
much-needed population. For children
who were once troubled students and
continually in the principal’s, nurse’s or
counselor’s offices, the program now gives
them a platform for expression.
“The kids who often find their way in the
program are in here all the time,” says
school nurse Denise Brakora, BSN, NCSN
of her examining room. “But as they learn
coping skills, we don’t see them as often.
They are figuring out how to successfully
express themselves. In a perfect world, this
would be in all the schools.”
Ireland says the program has successfully
helped more than 25 kids since it began.
Slowly but surely, she is seeing progress.
“Providence’s funding has given us the
ability to grow the program slowly and
make sure we get it right,” Ireland says.
For Shepherd, the program is about giving
young people the tools to cope – not just
with the challenges of middle school, but
also the hard realities of life.
“If we can get them successfully through
eighth grade,” she says, “they are going to
have a better chance at graduation.”
“Trauma is one of the main items these kids
are facing,” Shepherd says. “This is at least
a starting point to help them find ways to
deal with it.”
WHAT THE NUMBERS SHOW
Since Begich Middle School began its behavioral health clinic on campus in 2015, Heather Ireland, program director,
says the results have been encouraging. Among her findings after treatment:
 Kids in treatment were 11 times more likely to get to their first-hour classes on time;
 They were present an average of 27 more class periods;
 They were on time for classes 50 percent more often;
 76.5 percent of students in treatment said they felt better able to handle themselves at school;
 70.6 percent said they felt better able to get along with their peers; and
 62.5 percent said they felt their quality of life has improved.
5
Left to right:
One child at a time: Karin Hardy, an occupational therapist, plays with
Rosemary Youngblood in the speech and occupational therapy room at
Providence Seward Mountain Haven.
Nourishing newborns: Heather Preece, Kodiak KINDNESS project
coordinator, visits with Joelina Panamarioff and her youngest son Lance,
at Joelina's home in Kodiak.
New parents Anthony Castell and Janet Lyons hold their newborn
daughter, Neira, at Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center.
Rest and recovery: John Hammarstron, a patient recuperating at the
Brother Francis Shelter, talks with Deborah Seidl, director of In-Home
Services at Providence.
One child at a time
THERAPY SERVICES HELP SEWARD KIDS RECEIVE CARE THEY NEED
Rosemary Youngblood bounds into the
Speech and Occupational therapy room at
Providence Seward Mountain Haven, her
flyaway hair in multiple braids and a big
smile on her face. She’s heading straight
for a rehabilitation ladder and hops up the
steps, counting 1-2-3 until she reaches the
platform. Then, back down she goes: Hophop-hop, 1-2-3. She is a rambunctious,
active 3-year-old, who talks constantly.
It’s welcome behavior after more than a
year of therapy. Diagnosed on the autism
spectrum, Rosemary barely spoke a year
ago. Now she is a “chatty Cathy.”
“When her mother told me, ‘Rosemary
is driving me crazy, she just won’t stop
talking,’ I told her, ‘It’s like a speech
pathologist’s dream.’ It was the best
news I could have had,” says Lila Hurst,
a speech pathologist and supervisor
of Rehabilitation Services at Seward
Providence Medical Center and Seward
Mountain Haven, a long-term care facility
in Seward that also offers outpatient
services for clients of all ages.
In the small seaside community of
Seward, Rosemary is benefitting from a
partnership between Providence Health
& Services Alaska and the Infant Learning
Program, operated under the auspices of
SeaView Community Services. This was
one of many community benefit programs
supported by Providence in 2015.
Babies and toddlers suspected of having
special needs such as autism, Fetal
Alcohol Syndrome, cerebral palsy and
Down syndrome, are initially evaluated.
Educational and Rehabilitation specialists
then help families navigate the often-scary
path of seeking out the best care for their
kids. Sometimes, the children only have
minor speech impediments; sometimes it’s
more serious.
“We work together with families to find
the right relationships and the right kind
of care for their children,” said PJ HatfieldBauer, director of the Infant Learning
Program. “A lot of times, they don’t have
the income to find the right help or the
knowledge of where to look.”
Where Providence comes in is a specialized,
reduced-rate therapy program. Once
Hatfield-Bauer identifies a child who would
benefit from such services such as speech
or occupational therapy, she reaches out to
Providence. Therapists at Providence then
provide further evaluation and assist in
finding a definitive diagnosis, which helps
families navigate the insurance systems
for potential reimbursement of services. A
big part of their job also is in educating
parents, who can be overwhelmed when
presented with a serious diagnosis.
“We only charge for the initial evaluation
and even that is a minimal charge,” Hurst
says. “If the child needs additional therapy,
Providence will then absorb the cost.”
On this chilly March morning, Rosemary
does not disappoint in bringing smiles to
her caregivers. Chattering a mile a minute,
Hurst and the occupational therapist,
Karin Hardy, work to get the little girl to
focus – guiding her to a foam mat in one
of the therapy rooms, where she will look
through picture books and work with
moldable, tactile clay that helps children on
the autism spectrum get used to differing
sensations.
“When she first came here, she was just
under 2 and she was unable to speak, had
no language and did not look you in the
eyes,” Hatfield-Bauer says. “Now look at
her. It’s amazing.
“PJ and I, when we work with these kids,
they just melt our hearts,” Hurst adds.
Living in a small community makes it even
more important to have a village-to-raisea-child mentality, Hurst and Hatfield-Bauer
agrees. Providence, in its continued efforts
to offer compassionate care, is doing just
that. Visits with Rosemary have become
a high point of their week, and they
are amazed at her progress. She is one
of countless success stories they like to
celebrate at Providence Seward.
“These kids really impact our lives,” Hurst
continues. “Our motivation is when
you see them thriving. It’s a huge and
important job that we do, and we love it.”
Nourishing newborns
PROGRAM HELPS NEW MOTHERS NAVIGATE NURSING AND NUTRITION FOR THEIR BABIES
Even after her third child was born,
Joelina Panamarioff knew she would
need the services of Kodiak KINDNESS –
a local organization dedicated to helping
new mothers nourish their newborns.
The group helped her get used to nursing
after her first son was born. When her
second son was born after an emergency
C-section and then spent 10 days in the
newborn intensive care unit, KINDNESS
was there again.
“He was tube fed and bottle-fed, so it
was really hard for us to bond later,”
Panamarioff says. “And when my third
son was born, he had a deep palate and
it was very difficult. I’ve had different
circumstances with each baby, and every
time she knew what to do. … It actually
makes me pretty emotional, because
she’s always been there.”
The “she” to whom Panamarioff refers
is Heather Preece, a registered dietitian
and lactation consultant who developed
the idea 10 years ago and now operates
Kodiak KINDNESS thanks in part to
yearly contributions from Providence
Health & Services Alaska and donations
to Providence Alaska Foundation. Preece
began her career in Kodiak coordinating
the Women Infants and Children
Program. At the time, she said she knew
the technical side of nourishing babies
(continued on next page)
6
Nourishing newborns, continued from page 6
– but it wasn’t until she had her own
children that she fully understood what
motherhood is all about.
“I was a trained lactation professional and
dietitian, but in 2000 when I had my
own first baby, I realized how challenging
it can really be,” Preece says. A friend
with her own three children had offered
to help Preece, as she navigated the
challenges of feeding an infant.
“So in the middle of that night when I was
beside myself, and I felt so incompetent
as a mom, I called her and she came
over and she helped me, and that really
brought it home for me,” Preece says.
Kodiak KINDNESS (the KIND stands
for Kodiak Infant Nutrition and
Development) is available to all families
with infants in Kodiak, regardless of
income or insurance status. It is easy to
register and doesn’t cost a cent. New
parents are initially visited in the hospital,
and calls continue at set times for up to
18 months after baby is born. Parents can
call a “warm-line” at any time for sameday hands-on help. In 2015, 176 families
were enrolled in the program, with nearly
65 percent of them receiving in-home
visits as needed.
“We see everybody regardless of feeding
choice,” Preece says. “Certainly people
have problems and we want to be there
to help whenever they need us. Women
quit if they are in pain or they are not
sure if their babies are getting enough
milk. By helping new mothers at critical
times, we are seeing good results.”
Panamarioff says she believes all three
of her sons benefitted from Kodiak
KINDNESS’ services. Not only are they
growing up healthy, but she also feels
more confident about the quality and
quantity of nutrition they received at a
young age.
“I was in new-mom thinking mode when
he was first born,” she says of her son,
John, now 6. “It’s a fragile new baby, you
don’t know what to do and you’re scared.
I think people think, ‘Oh, you just put the
baby to your boob,’ but it’s not that easy.
I don’t give up very easily, but I think I
would have given up earlier if I didn’t
have their help.”
Preece stresses that Kodiak KINDNESS
is not just for mothers who want to
breastfeed, it’s a comprehensive nutrition
program designed to keep babies wellnourished regardless of feeding choice.
“No matter what, we just want babies to
grow up to be healthy,” she says.
Rest and recovery
A SAFE PLACE TO RECUPERATE HELPS HOMELESS PATIENTS HEAL
For more than a month, John
Hammarstron felt a pain in his abdomen
that never seemed to subside. He
thought it might be a stomach bug, or
maybe something to do with what he ate,
or maybe even stress. He worked two
jobs and had a place to live, but it was a
struggle, always a struggle.
Soon, the pain became so bad
Hammarstron couldn’t work, and when
he couldn’t work, he couldn’t afford to
pay his rent. When he couldn’t afford to
pay his rent, he ended up on the streets.
“I thought it was just a bellyache,”
Hammarstron says, “but a buddy of
mine said I should go to the doctor, so
I went to the ER. They took X-rays and
an oncologist came in and said, ‘It’s not
good; you have cancer.’ ”
Fortunately for Hammarstron, Providence
and Brother Francis Shelter could help.
In 2015, Providence Health & Services
Alaska made a $500,000 donation to
Catholic Social Services to create a safe
place for homeless patients to recuperate
from serious illnesses. Brother Francis
provides the living quarters for qualified
patients, and Providence monitors the
patients’ care with home health care
nurses, social workers and other health
care professionals who visit as needed.
“We had a number of patients who
are sick and they are homeless,” says
Deborah Seidl, director of in-home
services at Providence. “If they had a bed
for 24 hours a day instead of a shelter
they have to leave every morning, we
thought it would help with the healing.
When their bodies are deconditioned,
they can’t heal. When they are cold, they
can’t heal. This offers another option.”
Lisa Caldeira, program director at Brother
Francis Shelter, says the program is
being operated on a very small scale so
organizers can develop it properly. In a
back section of the shelter, there are a
few rooms, set up dorm-style, that can
house residents around the clock.
“They need that rest most people would
get if they were at home,” Caldeira says,
“but they don’t have a home. Here, they
are given a room, access to bathrooms
where they can shower, and care from
nurses who can visit them every day,
although it’s usually less than that.”
Hammarstron came to the shelter in late
2015. The pancreatic cancer he is battling
is taking a toll on him physically, he says,
but he feels better equipped to fight the
disease with the extra care he is receiving.
“I’m trying to keep good thoughts,” he
says. “I do a lot of praying. The shelter,
and Providence, and especially Bethany
Burgess, my social worker, have been
treating me with nothing but kindness
and respect.”
7
Happy wheels
VALDEZ VAN HELPS LONG-TERM CARE RESIDENTS LIVE LIFE
Sherikay Griffith loves her job – and the
residents of Providence Valdez Medical
Center’s long-term care facility. So, when
she and her co-workers were presented
with a wheelchair-accessible passenger
van – complete with a red bow – at
Christmas last year, it was the greatest
gift ever. And it’s not even hers.
“Residents still want to be part of the
community, and they still want to spend
time with their family,” Griffith says. “And
now they can. Now they have wheels.”
The purchase of the new van, which was
made possible by $45,000 of generous
community donations to the Providence
Alaska Foundation, was the result of
Providence Health & Services Alaska
recognizing the need for more services
for its residents. Because the majority of
the long-term care patients in its facility
are mobility challenged, getting them to
destinations and activities can be difficult.
“That van is used every day,” Griffith says.
“If the residents want to go shopping, we
can take them. If several of them are
having dentist appointments, we can get
them there. Without this van, they would
not be able to go.”
Once, Griffith says, she was driving one
of the residents through town to run
some errands when they came upon
the resident’s extended family, out for a
picnic by the water’s edge. They were
able to “pop-in,” much to the family’s
delight.
Happy wheels:
The van has a manual ramp and can fit several
residents inside. Residents can get rides to
appointments, go grocery shopping or join
their families for special events.
For Natasha Latta, the van is about the
residents maintaining a certain dignity
and self-sufficiency, knowing that
they have some say in how their days
are spent. It’s also about letting them
continue to be a part of their community.
Providence Alaska Foundation Board
Phil Cochrane
Tom Falskow, treasurer
Cynthia Gough
Grace Greene
Scott Habberstad
Bruce Lamoureux, SVP/CE PH&SA
Donna Logan, secretary
Mardy Lower
Martin Parsons
“This van is just amazing; it has a manual
ramp and we can fit several residents
inside,” Latta says. The van operated by
the city worked in a pinch, Latta says,
“but it was loud and large and rattly and
we couldn’t hear each other.”
Also, Latta adds, it wasn’t available at
a moment’s notice like their new one
is. Appointments had to be made well
in advance and it didn’t fit as many
residents inside. Now, an impromptu
drive to enjoy a sunny day is as simple as
a phone call.
“I try to tell anybody, ‘If you want to do
something special just let me know,’
and I’ll make sure they are there,”
Griffith says. “I can’t impress upon the
community our gratefulness for the van,
it’s such an essential.”
Latta agrees.
“It’s been an absolute blessing and huge
contribution to the quality of life for our
residents,” she says. “We could not be
more thankful.”
Before the Valdez van, residents had to
limited access to a town-operated van,
2015 Providence boards and councils
Providence Alaska Community
Ministry Board
Kathy J. Anderson, MPH, PhD
Sarah Barton
Timothy Bateman, M.D.
Pat Branson, Kodiak
Douglas Capra, Seward
Christopher Dyke, M.D.
Joseph Faulhaber
Alice Galvin
Kathy Hurlburt, M.D.
Christine Kramer, ANP
Bruce Lamoureux, SVP/CE, PH&SA
T. Noah Laufer, M.D.
Stewart Osgood, PE
Archbishop Roger L. Schwietz, OMI
Pamela Shirrell, RN, secretary
Steven Smith, M.D.
John (Chris) Swalling, chair
Stanley Watkins, M.D.
Lon Wilson
or had to call on family and friends to
help. And while family were often willing,
they were not able to safely get their
wheelchair-bound family members out.
Where we serve
Greg Pearce, vice chair
Glenn Peterson
Paul Peterson, M.D.
V Rae
Kimberly Reitmeier, past chair
Suzanne Rudolph, foundation president
Stacy Schubert
Jack Sedwick, M.D.
Casey Sullivan, chair
Ryan Wagner
Scott Wellmann, M.D.
Providence Anchorage Advisory Council
Richard Baird, PhD
TerriLee Bartlett
Cheryl Bowers
Claire Chan
Robert Dickson
Susan DiMaggio
Sezy Gerow-Hanson, vice chair
Patricia Hamilton
Mike Humphrey, chair
Karen Hunt
Mark Korting
Richard Mandsager, M.D., chief executive, PAMC
Tracy Morris
Madelyn Schlansker
Palmer •

• Eagle River 
• Anchorage

Valdez
•
Seward •

Key

Health care campus

Freestanding long-term care facility

Housing and assisted living

Physician services
 Behavioral health services
Kodiak•


Child day care centers

Home health and hospice services

Medical laboratory services

Freestanding outpatient services
Providence Health & Services Alaska
3760 Piper St., Suite 2021
Anchorage, AK 99508
alaska.providence.org
©2016 Providence Health & Services. All rights reserved.
PH16-20676
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