Legislature(2021 - 2022)DAVIS 106

03/18/2021 08:00 AM House TRIBAL AFFAIRS

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Audio Topic
08:01:27 AM Start
08:02:31 AM Presentation: Role of Tribal Health Organizations in Covid-19 Response
10:02:58 AM Adjourn
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ Presentation: The role of Tribal Health TELECONFERENCED
Organizations in the state's COVID-19 response
-- Testimony <Invitation Only> --
                    ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE                                                                                  
           HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON TRIBAL AFFAIRS                                                                          
                         March 18, 2021                                                                                         
                           8:01 a.m.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS PRESENT                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative Tiffany Zulkosky, Chair                                                                                          
Representative Dan Ortiz                                                                                                        
Representative Zack Fields                                                                                                      
Representative Geran Tarr                                                                                                       
Representative Mike Cronk                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS ABSENT                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
All members present                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
COMMITTEE CALENDAR                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
PRESENTATION:  Role Of Tribal Health Organizations in COVID-19                                                                  
Response                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     - HEARD                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
No previous action to record                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
WITNESS REGISTER                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
DR. BOB ONDERS                                                                                                                  
Administrator                                                                                                                   
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium                                                                                          
Anchorage, Alaska                                                                                                               
POSITION STATEMENT:  Gave a PowerPoint presentation during the                                                                
overall   presentation,   entitled   "Role   Of   Tribal   Health                                                               
Organizations in COVID-19 Response."                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
DR. ELLEN HODGES                                                                                                                
Chief of Staff                                                                                                                  
Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation                                                                                              
Bethel, Alaska                                                                                                                  
POSITION STATEMENT:  Gave a PowerPoint presentation during the                                                                
overall   presentation,   entitled   "Role   Of   Tribal   Health                                                               
Organizations in COVID-19 Response."                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
ANGEL DOTOMAIN                                                                                                                  
Alaska Area Director                                                                                                            
Indian Health Service                                                                                                           
Rockville, MD                                                                                                                   
POSITION STATEMENT:  Testified  during the presentation, entitled                                                             
"Role Of Tribal Health Organizations in COVID-19 Response."                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
DR. MARK PETERSON                                                                                                               
Medical Director                                                                                                                
Norton Sound Health Corporation                                                                                                 
Nome, Alaska                                                                                                                    
POSITION STATEMENT:  Testified  during the presentation, entitled                                                             
"Role Of Tribal Health Organizations in COVID-19 Response."                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
DR. ELLIOT BRUHL                                                                                                                
Chief Medical Officer                                                                                                           
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium                                                                                     
Juneau, Alaska                                                                                                                  
POSITION STATEMENT:  Testified  during the presentation, entitled                                                             
"Role Of Tribal Health Organizations in COVID-19 Response."                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
ACTION NARRATIVE                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
8:01:27 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  TIFFANY ZULKOSKY  called  the House  Special Committee  on                                                             
Tribal Affairs  meeting to  order at  8:01 a.m.   Representatives                                                               
Ortiz,  Cronk and  Zulkosky were  present at  the call  to order.                                                               
Representative    Field    and     Representative    Tarr    (via                                                               
teleconference) arrived as the meeting was in progress.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
^PRESENTATION:   Role of Tribal Health  Organizations in COVID-19                                                               
Response                                                                                                                        
 PRESENTATION:  Role of Tribal Health Organizations in COVID-19                                                             
                            Response                                                                                        
                                                                                                                              
8:02:31 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR ZULKOSKY  announced that the  only order of  business would                                                               
be a  presentation on the  role of tribal health  corporations in                                                               
COVID-19 response.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
8:03:00 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.  BOB  ONDERS,  Administrator,  Alaska  Native  Tribal  Health                                                               
Consortium, shared a PowerPoint on  the role of the Alaska Native                                                               
Tribal Health  Consortium (ANTHC)  during the  COVID-19 pandemic.                                                               
Early on,  efforts centered on mitigation,  early identification,                                                               
and   eradication,  he   stated;  securing   Personal  Protective                                                               
Equipment  (PPE)  and   testing  were  also  key.     When  early                                                               
identification  and  eradication  was no  longer  possible,  case                                                               
counts surging in  late fall 2020, the effort  became centered on                                                               
response,  he  shared.    Currently,   efforts  were  focused  on                                                               
vaccination  and  recovery.    How  the  COVID-19  pandemic  will                                                               
respond  to  ANTHC's  efforts to  mitigate  cases  across  Alaska                                                               
remained  to  be  seen,  he said.    Regions'  implementation  of                                                               
quarantine  policies  and   airport  testing  have  significantly                                                               
helped prevent  hospitalizations, he imparted.   High case counts                                                               
on the  road system eventually  became so  high that it  became a                                                               
challenge to  keep COVID-19 out  of rural  areas, he stated.   He                                                               
shared  slide 5,  which showed  on a  line graph  there had  been                                                               
fewer  than  100  cases of  influenza  throughout  the  2020-2021                                                               
season,  compared to  as many  as  1,200 lab  reports in  seasons                                                               
prior.  This showed mitigation measures worked, he said.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:07:26 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR. ONDERS  shared slide 6  on ANTHC response to  COVID-19, which                                                               
noted  systems became  overwhelmed  with  many staff  contracting                                                               
COVID-19  and entire  hospital  wings full  of  patients who  had                                                               
tested  positive for  the  virus.   Staffing  was made  available                                                               
through Indian  Health Service (IHS)  for ANTHC's  alternate care                                                               
facility at  a critical time,  he shared; without  the additional                                                               
facility  ANTHC would  have had  to  close earlier  than it  had.                                                               
There  were  times in  Fall  2020  when  all three  hospitals  in                                                               
Anchorage  were  closed,  he  stated, and  the  closures  made  a                                                               
significant  difference  for Rural  Alaska:    for critical  care                                                               
patients and  adult in-patients, ambulances could  rotate around,                                                               
but  air  transfers  presented  a  challenge,  he  said.    Every                                                               
ambulance would  be taken in,  but it  happened in the  fall that                                                               
ANTHC  was  not  able  to  take air  transfers.    Alaska  lacked                                                               
redundancy  in critical  care physicians,  critical care  nurses,                                                               
and  even   critical  care  beds,  so   mitigation  measures  and                                                               
prevention became key.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
8:10:11 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR. ONDERS shared  slide 7 on COVID-19  vaccine allocation, which                                                               
he called  the most beneficial of  all the phases thus  far.  The                                                               
"Sovereign  Nation Supplement,"  as  it was  called, through  IHS                                                               
with  its   unique  government-to-government   relationship  with                                                               
tribes in Alaska, allowed for  additional vaccines on top of what                                                               
had  already been  allocated.   This  significantly improved  the                                                               
vaccination  effort  across  the  state in  terms  of  per-capita                                                               
allocations, he  shared, adding that tribal  health organizations                                                               
had the  flexibility to  prioritize locally  and get  the vaccine                                                               
out  quickly.   Tribal  healthcare systems  prided themselves  on                                                               
relationships with patients, and  the extensive databases made it                                                               
easy to identify who was  high-risk early on.  Up-to-date contact                                                               
information made  it easy to  roll the vaccine out  to vulnerable                                                               
populations expediently, he imparted.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
DR. ONDERS shared  there were 27 tribal  health organizations and                                                               
12 major  tribal regions across  Alaska.  From the  standpoint of                                                               
ANTHC,  with   the  vaccine  out,  working   with  tribal  health                                                               
organizations across  the state  to get the  vaccine to  where it                                                               
was  most needed  was  the  main thing.    Areas  have been  more                                                               
successful  at  getting  the  vaccine out  and  areas  have  been                                                               
challenged, he  stated, and there  has been some  reallocation of                                                               
the vaccine  to those areas it  was still needed.   He emphasized                                                               
the protection of everyone in  the community, not just the tribal                                                               
members.    To  successfully  mitigate the  spread  of  COVID-19,                                                               
everyone must be kept safe, he added.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:14:03 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR ZULKOSKY asked if there was  a sense of the total number of                                                               
vaccines made available through the Sovereign Nation Supplement.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
DR. ONDERS replied no, but he could find out.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
DR.  ONDERS  moved  onto  slide  9,  a  bar  graph  which  showed                                                               
variability of  vaccine rollout among tribal  regions, looking at                                                               
both boroughs and tribal health  organizations which served those                                                               
boroughs.  The  goal was to get the vaccine  to communities which                                                               
needed to  get their immunization  rates higher, he related.   On                                                               
slide  10,  gleaned  from  State   of  Alaska  data,  Dr.  Onders                                                               
presented a line  graph showing in November and  December of 2020                                                               
Alaska  Native people  having about  three times  higher COVID-19                                                               
case counts, hospitalizations, and  mortality rates than the rest                                                               
of  the  population.   The  Sovereign  Nation  Supplement,  which                                                               
allowed for early administration to  areas of need, changed that.                                                               
This  was  indicated  on  the  graph,  he  pointed  out,  as  the                                                               
supplement was  able to provide  a disproportionate  advantage to                                                               
communities at risk.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
8:18:10 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.  ONDERS  went over  slide  11,  the morbidity  and  mortality                                                               
report from March  17, 2021.  Alaska ranked number  two in states                                                               
getting  out  vaccines to  communities  most  at risk.    Fifteen                                                               
different  variables  were  used to  determine  social  viability                                                               
across  the US,  he shared.   He  once again  gave credit  to the                                                               
supplement for the expedient rollout.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:21:19 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.  ELLEN   HODGES,  Chief  of  Staff,   Yukon-Kuskokwim  Health                                                               
Corporation,  presented a  PowerPoint  on  the COVID-19  pandemic                                                               
response by  the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation  (YKHC).  She                                                               
shared  that over  a year  ago,  in March  2020, YKHC's  Incident                                                               
Command Team had  been activated.  While the virus  was not known                                                               
to be  in the region  at that time,  YKHC had been  preparing for                                                               
the outbreak  with planning, training,  and drills.   In response                                                               
to  the  worldwide PPE  shortage,  YKHC  began making  masks  for                                                               
internal and village  clinic distribution.  Moving  onto slide 3,                                                               
Dr. Hodges  shared between  April and  August 2020  YKHC prepared                                                               
for  an  influx  in  patients  by  doubling  available  beds  and                                                               
identifying  alternative care  sites,  as well  as by  developing                                                               
strategies for  staff to follow if  a major surge hit.   They set                                                               
up  an   internal  contact   tracing  team,   developed  expanded                                                               
telehealth  capabilities to  serve communities  while travel  was                                                               
not feasible,  and set up  widespread testing  with drive-through                                                               
and  walk-in testing  in the  hospital  parking lot,  as well  as                                                               
testing at hub airports in  the region, meeting every flight that                                                               
landed in Bethel,  Aniak and St. Mary's to offer  testing, and by                                                               
beginning  widespread  testing  in  villages  that  had  positive                                                               
cases.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES  shared by  July over 7,000  tests had  been performed                                                               
and 22 positive cases had been  found.  Rapid response teams were                                                               
developed to  travel to villages  with positive cases  and assist                                                               
in treatment and testing.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
8:23:51 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  ZULKOSKY asked  how many  contact tracers  were on  YKHC's                                                               
COVID-19 response team.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES said  at first four, then five, then  with the advance                                                               
of the pandemic, about 12.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES  shared between September  and December 2020  YKHC set                                                               
up weekly  meetings to discuss precautions  and answer questions.                                                               
Participants  included   tribal  and  city   governments,  school                                                               
districts,   individual  villages,   and  internal   YKHC  staff.                                                               
Village trips  for testing and  assisting with  positive patients                                                               
continued, she added,  as did the emphasis on  testing into 2021.                                                               
As  of  March  2021,  upwards  of  74  thousand  tests  had  been                                                               
completed, she shared.   By the end of December  there were 3,644                                                               
cases in the  Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (Y-K Delta);  the average was                                                               
50   100 new cases per day; and  the peak of 135 cases in one day                                                               
occurred in mid-November, she shared.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:25:29 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  ZULKOSKY  asked  if  there   was  an  assessment  of  what                                                               
percentage  of tests  conducted  in the  YKHC  service area  were                                                               
processed  through   the  state   public  health  lab,   and  the                                                               
percentage  processed commercially  or  otherwise  not through  a                                                               
state lab.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES  said a small  percentage; YKHC relied heavily  on the                                                               
Alaska Native Medical Center to process most tests.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES pointed out  by way of a bar graph  that the Y-K Delta                                                               
had the highest  COVID-19 rates in Alaska,  especially during the                                                               
months of  October - December  2020 and  January 2021.   For many                                                               
weeks  these were  also the  highest case  rates in  the US,  she                                                               
added.  From  December 2020 to present, when  vaccines had become                                                               
available,  a distribution  plan  was set  up to  get  to all  47                                                               
villages  using  charters:    to begin  with,  30  villages  were                                                               
visited in four  days with multiple teams  to administer vaccines                                                               
to health  care workers.   Vaccine eligibility was  then expanded                                                               
to   the  elder   population  shortly   into  this   effort,  and                                                               
eligibility was  immediately opened  on trips  to villages  as it                                                               
was understood that  everyone in a village must  be vaccinated to                                                               
get the pandemic under control.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES shared  between December 18, 2020 and  January 9, 2021                                                               
YKHC completed  57 village visits  throughout the Y-K  Delta, and                                                               
that  all  YKHC villages  with  clinics  were visited  with  some                                                               
receiving multiple visits.  Village  trips continued, on a weekly                                                               
basis, to  administer the  second shot as  needed, and  the first                                                               
shot to  new people.  A  vaccine administration space was  set up                                                               
at the  hospital in Bethel  in mid-December,  she shared.   As of                                                               
March 17, 2021, patients 16 years  old and older were eligible to                                                               
receive the vaccine, and 53.2  percent have received at least one                                                               
shot, 43.8 percent have received both.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
8:29:53 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  ZULKOSKY asked  how quickly  the YKHC  service region  was                                                               
able to expand  vaccinations at tribal health  facilities to non-                                                               
tribal health beneficiaries.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.  HODGES replied  within  two weeks,  especially  elders.   By                                                               
December 23, 2020,  all residents 65 and older  were eligible; by                                                               
mid-January, all  residents were eligible.   The vaccination rate                                                               
played a huge part  in the enormous drop in cases  [by the end of                                                               
January], she pointed out.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
8:31:40 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ asked if there  had been an assessment as to                                                               
why the high case counts happened.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES replied three or  four different factors were at play:                                                               
crowded, multi-generational homes with  poor ventilation; lack of                                                               
access to adequate sanitation (60  percent of homes in the region                                                               
did not have  sewer) increasing rate and  severity of respiratory                                                               
illness; infrastructure  issues regarding  housing and  access to                                                               
medical care.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   ORTIZ  stated   these  imbedded   and  difficult                                                               
problems  needed   to  be  truly  addressed,   COVID-19  pandemic                                                               
notwithstanding.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES shared in terms  of future efforts YKHC would continue                                                               
vaccination distribution  in all  villages utilizing  both health                                                               
aides and visiting  providers.  Some villages  have achieved over                                                               
95 percent [vaccinated] of those  eligible, she stated.  In terms                                                               
of future  efforts, YKHC would  resume routine village  visits by                                                               
providers as  often as  possible for  medical, dental  and vision                                                               
appointments and provide public information  on the status of the                                                               
virus in the  region.  Lastly, she stated,  YKHC kindly requested                                                               
the  Legislature pass  House Bill  76, which  would allow  tribal                                                               
health services to  continue to grow, especially in  the light of                                                               
decreased ability  to transfer  patients by  air.   She expressed                                                               
gratitude for telehealth services and shared resources.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
8:37:24 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   TARR  asked   if,   after   the  public   health                                                               
declaration, telehealth services should be made permanent.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES  replied yes, telehealth had  been very well-received,                                                               
and  it  should  remain,  for   the  well-being  of  all  people.                                                               
Especially  for  routine  follow-up appointments  this  would  be                                                               
desirable, she added.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES  stated variants  to COVID-19  continued to  emerge in                                                               
the Y-K  Delta, and the  best defense was  to get as  many people                                                               
vaccinated as  possible, maintain masking and  social distancing,                                                               
and minimize group activities.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
8:40:12 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ asked if  "vaccine breakthrough cases" meant                                                               
fully vaccinated people had acquired the virus.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
DR.  HODGES  replied yes,  and  those  folks were  almost  always                                                               
asymptomatic.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ  asked if  there was  any state  or national                                                               
data that indicated the effectiveness  of current vaccinations on                                                               
the variants.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
DR.  HODGES replied  yes, both  Pfizer and  Moderna vaccines  had                                                               
proven effective against known variants.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:42:54 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS,  referencing an Alaska Daily  News article                                                               
about  low vaccination  rates  and high  infection  rates in  the                                                               
Matanuska-Susitna valley,  asked about the  risk of such  an area                                                               
for the rest  of Alaska, given the reality of  travel, and how it                                                               
endangered folks in the rest of the state.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES  replied it was very  dangerous as such an  area would                                                               
allow  the  virus  to  replicate   and  potentially  create  more                                                               
variants.   She added the best  defense was to vaccinate  and not                                                               
leave such "reservoirs" of unvaccinated  people.  She pointed out                                                               
that Alaska already had such a  reservoir with people aged 16 and                                                               
under.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS  asked what  guidance she had  to encourage                                                               
folks to get vaccinated                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
DR.  HODGES  replied  that   continuing  education  and  accurate                                                               
information  including  risks of  not  getting  vaccinated.   She                                                               
cautioned against  inaccurate information spread on  social media                                                               
and recommended  instead engagement with public  health officials                                                               
and respected leaders in the community.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
8:45:41 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR ZULKOSKY asked about the  arc of eligibility expansion that                                                               
occurred in  the Y-K Delta  with respect  to the initial  wave of                                                               
vaccinations that came out in mid-December 2020.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
DR. HODGES replied  the first vaccines arrived  December 16, 2020                                                               
and went out  to villages December 18.  Six  or seven days later,                                                               
it was  realized elders could  be vaccinated in the  villages and                                                               
elsewhere.   It was made sure  there was good outreach  to tribal                                                               
councils so Village Public Safety  Officers and others responding                                                               
to  the pandemic  would be  able to  receive the  vaccine.   Each                                                               
village had some  method of responding to folks who  had to be in                                                               
quarantine or  who tested positive,  she said.  She  continued by                                                               
adding by  the second week  of January  2021 it had  been decided                                                               
there was enough vaccine and  enough interest to offer vaccine to                                                               
anyone 16 and over in villages; shortly thereafter in Bethel.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
8:49:52 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR ZULKOSKY asked Dr. Onders  how many COVID-19 tests had been                                                               
processed  through   ANTHC's  lab  and  when   testing  had  been                                                               
expanded.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
DR. ONDERS  replied he would  send numbers, and testing  had been                                                               
expanded March  22.   He added ANMC  had the  first high-capacity                                                               
analyzer in the state.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
8:53:48 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ANGEL DOTOMAIN, Alaska Area Director,  shared in FY 20 the Alaska                                                               
Native  Health  Service distributed  more  than  $161 million  to                                                               
tribal  health  partners from  the  Alaska  CARES Act  and  other                                                               
supplemental funding.   Through the IHS  National Service Center,                                                               
PPE  and  Abbott ID  analyzers  for  COVID-19 testing  were  also                                                               
distributed.   The IHS  helped with  staffing shortages  and data                                                               
collection for vaccine  preparation as well, she  explained.  The                                                               
IHS worked to  distribute vaccines as tribes all  chose the State                                                               
of  Alaska for  their jurisdiction.  Ms. Dotomain  also expressed                                                               
her happiness with the Abbott ID testing system.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
8:57:25 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked what it  meant that tribes chose Alaska                                                               
as their jurisdiction in terms of vaccine distribution.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
DR. DOTOMAIN replied that tribes across  the US had the option of                                                               
selecting their state for jurisdiction  or the IHS.  Since Alaska                                                               
had a longstanding vaccine process  which had been perfected over                                                               
many  years  it  was  the  better  choice,  especially  with  the                                                               
knowledge that data management was  going to be difficult, and it                                                               
would have been harder to report into the IHS system.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:00:09 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.  MARK   PETERSON,  Medical  Director,  Norton   Sound  Health                                                               
Corporation, shared  Norton Sound Health Corporation  (NSHC) knew                                                               
they had  to have  a very aggressive  prevention strategy.   Only                                                               
about 10  thousand people  resided in NSHC,  he stated,  and some                                                               
still had a healthy fear of  pandemics dating back to the Spanish                                                               
Flu.    Nome had  been  shut  down  to  very limited  air  travel                                                               
initially, and  they were also able  to hold off the  virus until                                                               
they  developed a  good  testing  strategy, he  shared.   It  was                                                               
decided to put  an Abbott ID testing system in  every village, he                                                               
imparted,  adding  that  NSHC had  looked  for  a  large-capacity                                                               
testing system but couldn't get one.   They were just putting one                                                               
in at the time of the hearing, he  said.  Each village as well as                                                               
the city of Nome had mandatory quarantine requirements, he said.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
9:07:14 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.  PETERSON showed  a slide  on COVID-19  data from  The Norton                                                               
Sound/Bering Strait Region from January 1  to March 14, 2021.  He                                                               
pointed out that the close to  67 thousand tests were mostly done                                                               
on the  Abbott ID analyzers, and  that since the region  only had                                                               
12 thousand  people each person  had been tested six  times early                                                               
in the  pandemic.  There  have been  324 total positive  cases by                                                               
this time,  and two villages with  large outbreaks.  By  the time                                                               
of  the outbreaks,  analyzers, aggressive  testing, and  contract                                                               
tracers were  in place,  he stated.   The region  was now  on the                                                               
life-saving vaccine tract, he said,  crediting the combination of                                                               
statewide allocation and IHS distribution.   He shared a slide on                                                               
vaccination   percentages,  sharing   the  first   half  of   the                                                               
population was "not a problem"  to get vaccinated, but the second                                                               
half  may be  "a  little more  difficult."   He  pointed out  the                                                               
region had "pretty  good numbers," with most  villages being well                                                               
over 50 percent  vaccinated and 63 percent of  all eligible folks                                                               
having received  the vaccine.  It  was still an uphill  battle to                                                               
get  to 70  percent, he  said.   Testing  has eased  a bit  since                                                               
vaccines have proven effective, he said.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:12:04 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS  asked if  NSHC was doing  all vaccinations                                                               
in Nome or if another  entity was providing vaccinations for non-                                                               
Tribal citizens.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
DR. PETERSON  replied that the  clinic in Nome  had traditionally                                                               
done  all   vaccinations  for   tribal  beneficiaries   and  non-                                                               
beneficiaries and  would continue  to do so.   He  echoed others'                                                               
appreciation  for telehealth  as  well.   Educated  folks in  the                                                               
region were worried  about the large number of  COVID-19 cases in                                                               
the Matanuska-Susitna valley, he shared.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:15:35 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CRONK  said he  would  be  looking into  why  the                                                               
basketball tournament would be taking place in a hotspot.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
DR. PETERSON  agreed and said residents  had expressed discontent                                                               
that no rapid testing was available at the tournament.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK  expressed his belief a  double standard was                                                               
at play,  there were many safer  places in the state  in which to                                                               
hold the tournament, and student  athletes' best interest was not                                                               
at the forefront.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
9:18:51 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR ZULKOSKY asked  about the arc of  decision making regarding                                                               
expanding  eligibility criteria  for vaccinations  in the  Norton                                                               
Sound  region, especially  how quickly  decisions to  expand were                                                               
able to be made.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
DR.  PETERSON replied  that the  whole  region had  been open  to                                                               
people aged 16 and older since  January 2021, which has been very                                                               
effective,  adding anything  that reduced  roadblocks to  getting                                                               
more people getting vaccinated would be helpful.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
9:22:00 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK  asked if there  was a preference  in brands                                                               
of vaccines.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR. PETERSON  replied that the  vaccine that is available  is the                                                               
one to get.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CRONK  asked  if  the  vaccine  would  help  with                                                               
chronic symptoms of COVID-19.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
DR. PETERSON  said he  didn't believe so,  and that  COVID-19 was                                                               
also not  as simple a  disease as was  once thought, with  a good                                                               
percentage of people showing chronic symptoms.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
9:25:25 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.  ELLIOT  BRUHL,  Chief   Medical  Officer,  Southeast  Alaska                                                               
Regional  Health  Consortium,  stated Southeast  Alaska  Regional                                                               
Health Consortium (SEARHC) provided  a different tapestry of care                                                               
to 27  different locations.   He shared a timeline  which tracked                                                               
SEARHC's actions  since the beginning  of the  COVID-19 pandemic,                                                               
beginning with  the establishment  of an incident  command center                                                               
to allow for consistent communication  with employees and outside                                                               
agencies.     Weekly  meetings  were  held   with  IHS  regarding                                                               
resources  and  PPE, and  emergency  operations  centers set  up.                                                               
Supplies including PPE and ventilators  were obtained, the former                                                               
through   IHS.     Increased  training   for  respiratory   care,                                                               
particularly  in remote  areas, was  a focus,  he stated,  as was                                                               
gaining access to testing.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:31:36 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR. BRUHL  also expressed appreciation  for Abbott  ID analyzers.                                                               
Regarding  the Governor's  orders  regarding  care, practices  at                                                               
SEARHC  were being  constantly  retooled  and ultimately  testing                                                               
every   employee  every   week.     Telehealth  helped   maintain                                                               
continuity  of   service,  he  stated,   and  allowed   for  safe                                                               
engagement of  patient care.   He did express hesitation  for the                                                               
"Wild West"  nature of telehealth that  was developing nationally                                                               
and  the vulnerability  of the  health care  system in  Alaska to                                                               
clinics and providers  outside the state drawing care  out of our                                                               
own systems, especially  in remote locations in  which the result                                                               
could  be  a corrosive  effect.    It  was expensive  to  provide                                                               
services anywhere  in the state, he  said, so to have  them being                                                               
drawn upon from outside was highly concerning.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
9:35:51 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ORTIZ  asked if  there  was  a direct  connection                                                               
between the continued ability of  the state to deliver telehealth                                                               
medical services  and the extension of  the emergency declaration                                                               
specifically  titled  "emergency  declaration;" if,  he  offered,                                                               
House Bill  76 were  to be adopted  without the  title "emergency                                                               
declaration"  it  would  be problematic  in  terms  of  receiving                                                               
telehealth services.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
DR. BRUHL  replied yes, special  relationships were in  place and                                                               
the cancellation  cut off those special  relationships.  Patients                                                               
and clinicians  alike had  come to rely  on telehealth  and those                                                               
relationships, he  stated.  It  was concerning that  patients may                                                               
be drawn away  by  other telehealth providers who  were not aware                                                               
of patients' situation in Alaska, he stated.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.  HODGES said  having [emergency]  extension is  essential for                                                               
telehealth,  particularly   with  regard  the  handling   of  the                                                               
behavioral health  crisis in  her region.   It  was also  good to                                                               
receive  specialty care  through ANTHC,  she said,  but regarding                                                               
behavioral health it was essential.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ  said he  in no  way doubted  telehealth for                                                               
state  residents,  but  the  problem   was  there  seemed  to  be                                                               
political considerations;  he asked if  it would it be  a problem                                                               
if  for   telehealth's  continuance  if  "an   extension  of  the                                                               
emergency  declaration"  were  not   included  in  the  title  of                                                               
legislation.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.  HODGES  said   she  didn't  think  so,   especially  if  the                                                               
legislation  allowed   for  the  services  to   continue,  and  a                                                               
permanent solution were on the way.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
DR. PETERSON  agreed with the summation  telehealth was essential                                                               
for behavioral health.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ORTIZ  clarified  his  question was  based  on  a                                                               
constituent's  inability to  receive telehealth  benefits because                                                               
the emergency declaration was no  longer in place, and if out-of-                                                               
state  providers  were then  required  to  go  back and  look  at                                                               
specific  pieces of  passed legislation  to determine  they could                                                               
still provide services.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:45:35 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  ZULKOSKY asked  if the  flexibilities  afforded through  a                                                               
disaster  declaration   such  as  House  Bill   76  provided  the                                                               
expansion  support that  health  providers were  looking for  but                                                               
also  provided  finite  sunset  to  expansions  so  that  Alaskan                                                               
medical professionals  could tease out any  problems with drawing                                                               
Alaskan entities outside the state;  the temporary measure needed                                                               
to have  a sunset provision  to protect Alaska  institutions, she                                                               
stated.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
DR. BRUHL  said the emergency  declaration has been  essential to                                                               
being able  to respond to  the crisis,  and leaders needed  to be                                                               
creating systems  that were safe.   If systems were unable  to be                                                               
maintained  because  predatory  health  systems  were  projecting                                                               
opportunities for  patients to  go outside  of the  state looking                                                               
for  care, in  the  end it  will be  destructive  to the  system,                                                               
undermining   its  infrastructure,   he  said.     Coming   to  a                                                               
legislative structure should be paramount, he stated.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:50:13 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ said  he was wondering how  important it was                                                               
to include the  title "emergency declaration," and  if it didn't,                                                               
how much out-of-state providers would  be expected to "delve into                                                               
the weeds"  regarding their continuation of  providing telehealth                                                               
services.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:52:43 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.   BRUHL  turned   back  to   the   timeline,  talking   about                                                               
partnerships   with  school   districts   and  mitigations   that                                                               
reflected  CDC  guidelines  dovetailed with  local  school  board                                                               
preferences.   He shared SEARHC  had performed over  107 thousand                                                               
tests.   Vaccine  began to  arrive  in December,  he shared,  and                                                               
SEARHC  attended and  distributed vaccine  in a  steadfast manner                                                               
which made him proud, in storms,  by boat, and by float plane, he                                                               
shared.  This  reflected medical needs of communities  and gave a                                                               
lot of  hope, he stated,  particularly regarding  past pandemics'                                                               
ravaging  of remote  areas.    A system  using  QR codes  allowed                                                               
patients to  sign up using  their smartphones which has  been key                                                               
to success, he stated.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
9:58:07 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.   BRUHL  shared   the   availability   of  vaccine   exceeded                                                               
recommendations  of the  state,  so they  moved quickly,  already                                                               
vaccinating anyone 16  and older regardless of risk  group.  Over                                                               
11  thousand  people  have  received  the  first  vaccine  and  9                                                               
thousand  their second,  he  stated.   Well  over  70 percent  in                                                               
smaller  communities and  50 percent  of  larger communities  had                                                               
also been  vaccinated, he shared.   Vaccine had been  provided to                                                               
communities which did  not have a strong  IHS presence, including                                                               
Juneau, Petersburg, and Skagway, he shared.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
10:02:58 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
ADJOURNMENT                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There being no  further business before the  committee, the House                                                               
Special  Committee on  Tribal Affairs  meeting  was adjourned  at                                                               
10:02 a.m.                                                                                                                      

Document Name Date/Time Subjects
ANTHC Presentation 3.18.21.pdf HTRB 3/18/2021 8:00:00 AM
NSHC Presentation 3.18.21.pdf HTRB 3/18/2021 8:00:00 AM
YKHC Presentation 3.18.21.pdf HTRB 3/18/2021 8:00:00 AM
SEARHC Presentation 3.18.21.pdf HTRB 3/18/2021 8:00:00 AM