The Community Health Aide Program’s (CHAP) www.akchap.org Certification Board managed by the government’s Alaska Area Native Health Service (NTHC) http://anthc.org is one of 12 regional offices of the Indian Health Service (IHS) www.ihs.gov working in partnership with tribal health organizations.
Recently, 171 behavioral health, dental health, and community health aides and practitioners were certified in Alaska. CHAP consists of a network of approximately 550 aides working in over 170 rural Alaska villages
“Community health aides are the back bone of care in remote Alaska and are selected by their communities to receive training,” said Andrew McLaughlin, CHAP Certification Board Chair.
He reports, “The CHAP program is proof that under geographical constraints, the Indian Health Service and tribal programs can work together to accomplish and deliver a higher standard of medical care to underserved and remote populations.
The principal provider of health services in Alaska at the village level is the Community Health Aide/Practitioner responsible for giving first aid in emergencies, examining the ill, reporting symptoms to a physician, carrying out recommended treatments, instructing the family in giving nursing care, conducting preventive health programs in the villages, plus aides are able to store and dispense prescription drugs with instructions from a physician.
Behavioral Health Aides (BHA) http://anthc.org/behavioral-health-aide-program provide counseling, health education, and advocacy. BHAs help address individual and community-based behavioral health needs, including needs related to alcohol, drug, and tobacco abuse as well as mental health problems. These problems may include grief, depression, suicide, and related issues.
Dental Health Aides http://anthc.org/dental-health-aide, a community driven program provides culturally appropriate dental education and routine dental services to 81 Alaska Native communities serving over 40,000 Alaska Native people since 2004.
ANTHC has implemented a system of EMRs between the state’s networks of healthcare facilities and has designed and built equipment to allow CHAPs to create and send digital images for medical consultations.