Rural and Community Health Systems



The Division of Public Health's Rural and Community Health Systems -- a section encompassing the Health Emergency Response Operations and Office of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) as well as the Alaska Trauma System and Office of Healthcare Access -- leads the way in preparing the State of Alaska and its citizens for any public health emergency or disaster, either natural or man-made.

The Section accomplishes this goal by:

working, planning, and training with its partner agencies and providing educational materials for healthcare agencies and the general public;

conducting training for first responders and healthcare agencies;

holding readiness exercises for and with our local, state, federal, tribal and non-profit partners;

ensuring the availability and quality of EMS personnel and agencies in Alaska through guidelines, training, certification, technical assistance, data collection, and quality assurance activities;

providing emergency planning support for Alaskan communities and healthcare agencies; and

providing grant funding for statewide hospital and healthcare preparedness and for the operations of the seven EMS Regions.

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