PEDIATRIC HEALTHCARE | 2020 CONVENTION OUTLOOK | INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE December 2019
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CONTENTS DECEMBER 2019 | VOLUME 35 | NUMBER 12 | AKBIZMAG.COM
FE AT UR E S 10 FINANCE
22 ENERGY
Credit Cleaning
Alaska and Renewable Energy: A Missed Opportunity?
Credit improvement services aid financial health By Tracy Barbour
16 CONSTRUCTION
Measuring the state’s potential for leading the renewable energy industry
ASTAR in the Arctic
Big changes could be in store for far north communities By Brad Joyal
By Isaac Stone Simonelli
58 T RANSPORTATION
Bison, Kayaks, and Natural Gas Platforms Unusual cargo taken in stride by Alaska’s transportation companies By Vanessa Orr
64 TOURISM
2020 Conventions, Conferences, and Regional Meetings Business travelers boost Alaska’s economy
Darin Sauls | CVEA Occupational Health and Safety
By Vanessa Orr
Beacon Occupational Health and Safety
ABOUT THE COVER PEDIAT RIC
HEALTH CARE
NTION | 2020 CONVE
INDUST RIAL OUTLO OK |
HYGIEN E December 2019
52 OIL & GAS
Industrial Hygiene Staying safe in the oil field
DECEMBER 2019
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Happy Healthcare! It’s December, which means our annual Healthcare special section. There is no other business sector we cover that is as applicable to every Alaskan (though fishing is clearly a close second). There are many obstacles that prevent Alaskans from having access to the care they need, ranging from transportation to cost to the availability of specialized services; however, the dedication of the individuals and organizations within the Alaska healthcare system is more than a match for many of those obstacles. Alaska is still very much a rugged place, full of the unexpected—but through the industry’s hard work, healthcare in the Last Frontier continues to become more robust and reliable.
By Isaac Stone Simonelli
Cover Art by Monica Sterchi-Lowman
DEPARTMENTS 8 FROM THE EDITOR 68 EAT, SHOP, PLAY, STAY 4 | December 2019
70 EVENTS CALENDAR
74 INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS
78 ALASKA TRENDS
72 BUSINESS EVENTS
76 RIGHT MOVES
80 OFF THE CUFF
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SUPPORTING OUR
COMMUNITIES BUILDING OUR ECONOMY
Alaska’s diverse cultures, industries and lifestyles make every community unique, strong and vibrant. As Alaska’s most experienced community bank, First National Bank Alaska believes in reaching out, lending a hand and working together. That’s what being part of every community we serve is all about. From helping those less fortunate to supporting Alaska’s youth and future leaders, we believe in helping Alaskans. And when we all pull together, our future is bright. Promises kept. Trust earned. Since 1922.
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CONTENTS DECEMBER 2019 | VOLUME 35 | NUMBER 12 | AKBIZMAG.COM
H E A LT H C A R E S P E C I A L S E C T I O N 34 Navigating Medicaid How small healthcare providers in Alaska work with Medicaid to deliver vital services
Alchemy Orthotics & Prosthetics
By Amy Newman
40
Healthcare in an Arctic Oil Field Lee Harrington
What medical care looks like on the North Slope By Sam Davenport
28
Serving Alaska’s Smallest Patients Pediatricians care for the whole health of the state’s children By Isaac Stone Simonelli
Granting Healthcare More than $18 million infused in Alaska communities to improve medical care By Sam Davenport
6 | December 2019
Fairweather
46
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When your name is Alaska, you’d better be able to deliver.
We’re proud to be the largest scheduled cargo carrier in Alaska. No one is more committed to the people of Alaska. Serving 19 communities across the state.* For more information or to book your shipment online, go to alaskaair.com/cargo. Or call us at 1-800-225-2752. *Some flights operate seasonally.
VOLUME 35, #12 Published by Alaska Business Publishing Co. Anchorage, Alaska
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ALASKA BUSINESS PUBLISHING CO., INC. Alaska Business (ISSN 8756-4092) is published monthly by Alaska Business Publishing Co., Inc., 501 W. Northern Lights Boulevard, Suite 100, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-2577; Telephone: (907) 276-4373; © 2019 Alaska Business Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Alaska Business accepts no responsibility for unsolicited materials; they will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. One-year subscription is $39.95 and includes twelve issues (print + digital) and the annual Power List. Single issues of the Power List are $15 each. Single issues of Alaska Business are $4.99 each; $5.99 for the July & December issues. Send subscription orders and address changes to circulation@akbizmag. com. To order back issues ($9.99 each including postage) visit simplecirc.com/ back_issues/alaska-business. AKBusinessMonth AKBusinessMonth alaska-business-monthly akbizmag
8 | December 2019
FROM
THE
EDITOR
We Wish You a Merry Checkup I can’t think of a place I’d rather be in winter than Alaska. It truly is a wonderland, I mean, Mr. and Mrs. Claus live just a plane ride from our offices. But with the good always comes the not-so-good, in this case colds, flus, even pneumonia and general malaise from long, dark days. For most of us, a few days in bed are enough to get back on our feet and into the frosty air. For others, a trip to the family doctor will do the trick. But for those without or with limited insurance, finding a solution to illness (physical and emotional) doesn’t come easy. Even at the best of times health insurance is a complicated and confusing system—especially in Alaska, which has the highest healthcare costs in the country. And while we celebrate the great parts of living in Alaska (even with the flu) during the holiday season, we also recognize there are many businesses that struggle to offer health insurance to their employees. The average cost for the lowest-priced small business health insurance plan in Alaska is about $715 per employee each month, according to Healthcare.gov, meaning that providing healthcare benefits for employees often comes at the cost of the employer’s ability to branch out, invest, or even insure themselves. For consumers who don’t have commercial or employer-provided insurance, there are options, but they aren’t always optimal. One is Medicaid (not to be confused with Medicare… see it’s confusing!) which offers healthcare coverage to low-income families or individuals. In our annual healthcare special section, we examine how to navigate the state-run system for healthcare providers and facilities that want to become authorized Medicaid providers. Given that Alaska has seen a net increase in Medicaid enrollment of 80 percent since the first Marketplace Open Enrollment Period and related Medicaid program changes in 2013—knowing the ins and outs of accepting Medicaid patients is and will remain increasingly important. A healthcare special section in December wouldn’t be complete without talking about how Alaska cares for one of its most vulnerable populations: children. Children are often unable to communicate how they’re feeling effectively so we talked to pediatricians around the state about how they overcome professional obstacles to make sure our tiny Alaskans can get back to worrying about their next candy fix. Alaska faces many challenges when it comes to offering, finding, and receiving healthcare. But they are not insurmountable challenges thanks to the state’s dedicated, extremely hardworking providers. To them we say thank you. To you we say… stay healthy!
Kathryn Mackenzie Managing Editor, Alaska Business
"The average cost for the lowest-priced small business health insurance plan in Alaska is about $715 per employee each month, according to Healthcare. gov, meaning that providing healthcare benefits for employees often comes at the cost of the employer's ability to branch out, invest, or even insure themselves."
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
FINANCE
Credit Cleaning Credit improvement services aid financial health By Tracy Barbour
10 | December 2019
A
positive credit history is a vital component of being a consumer in today’s financial world. Credit affects one’s ability to secure loans, credit cards, housing, auto insurance, and even employment. For those who need it, credit improvement services offer solutions that can help people enhance their credit history and financial well-being, offering a welcome reprieve from the no-upon-no consumers with spotty credit get used to hearing when applying for everything from car loans to credit cards. Credit repair companies primarily help people implement strategies to ameliorate their overall credit worthiness. These businesses, which offer free and/or fee-based services, typically review an individual’s credit report and prescribe ways to boost credit through strategic tactics like paying down debt, paying on time, and disputing errors
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on their credit report. However, the process of credit improvement should begin with consumers having some basic knowledge about credit, says Emanuel Rivero, director of the Hispanic Centers for Financial Excellence at Money Management International (MMI). He explains: “They need to understand what makes up a credit report: 35 percent is based on your payment history; 30 is how much you owe; 15 percent is the length of your credit history; 10 percent is recent applications; and 10 percent is credit mix.” Wells Fargo Greater Alaska District Manager Chris Shockley considers consumer education a key prerequisite for credit improvement. “We’ve got to make sure that folks understand what credit is and why it’s important,” says Shockley, who oversees nine Wells Fargo branches and sixty-five team members on the Kenai Peninsula and in Western Alaska. “It takes education and a good plan to make sure your bills are paid on time, revolving credit isn’t used to capacity, and spending habits are kept in check.” A reputable credit improvement business can help people address all of these areas as well as broader issues. However, consumers should be aware that there are debt settlement, management, and consolidation companies masquerading as credit counseling agencies. While debt management businesses are not necessarily illegal or disreputable, they may not be licensed to provide credit-repair services. There are good and bad players in this arena, and consumers should know some of the red flags associated with unscrupulous companies, says Rivero, who oversees MMI’s small business, student loan, and web-based counseling programs. He cautions: “If they’re asking for payment before they do anything, that’s illegal. If they won’t send you an agreement to review… If they ask you to do shady things like claim identity theft… or if there’s anything that seems dishonest, I would label that as a scam.” Credit Monkey CEO Dion Rostamian suggests using a direct approach to vet an organization’s www.akbizmag.com
service offerings. “Simply asked them if they are licensed and bonded and what their license specifically covers,” he says. “Ask if they are a debt settlement company or a credit repair organization.” The bottom line: Consumers need to be aware of the differences between credit repair/counseling and debt management services so they can solicit help from the most appropriate organization.
Alaska-Based Credit Counseling Options Like most states, Alaska has a range of organizations available to help
people improve their credit history. To legally operate in the state, businesses generally must be licensed with the Alaska Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing. In Alaska, MMI is, reportedly, the only licensed credit counseling agency approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). MMI is a nationwide network of nonprofits that provide consumers with free credit counseling and education. The agency offers a range of services through its Anchorage office, including
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financial management/budget counseling, mortgage delinquency and default resolution counseling, non-delinquency post-purchase workshops, rental housing counseling, pre-purchase home buying education workshops, and predatory lending education workshops. Alaskans can visit MMI’s Anchorage office for a face-to-face meeting with a certified counselor, who can provide a free financial analysis and strategies to help enhance their credit. “We will sit down with them… We will come up with an action plan based on the information on their credit report,” says Rivero. As a nonprofit, MMI receives contributions from major creditors and provides most of its services free of charge. In addition to offering counseling, the agency provides professional debt management services that are customized to consumers. If individuals opt for a debt management plan, they pay just one monthly payment and have MMI pay their credit cards monthly on their behalf. This will allow them to get the account paid off and amortized in five years or less. “They pay us, then we pay their creditors,” Rivero
explains. “The benefit is that they receive a reduced interest rate, the convenience of having only one payment to make, and major cost savings. They could save thousands of dollars throughout the course of their debt management plan.” Other credit counseling and repair businesses with active licenses in Alaska include Farmakis Credit Repair, Pioneer Credit Counseling, and DebtWave Credit Counseling, according to October 15 database results of the Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing.
Self-Repair and Online Resources In addition to working with a professional credit repair business, there are many credit-improvement strategies consumers can implement themselves. In fact, do-it-yourself credit repair is something that every person needs to explore, Rivero says. There’s too much information available for consumers not to attempt some type of self-repair. Then if they need assistance, they can always solicit professional help. “If you don’t have the time to repair your own
credit, then reach out to a nonprofit organization,” he says. “I would start there.” There are also a variety of online resources that can facilitate credit improvement. For example, Capital One, Discover, and American Express provide credit monitoring services for their customers. Mint.com allows people to aggregate their accounts, develop a budget, and get a better handle on their finances. And Credit Karma offers free credit scores, monitoring, and insights, as well as handy loan, amortization, and debt repayment calculators. However, consumers should be aware that Credit Karma uses the VantageScore 3.0 model, which doesn’t generate industry-specific scores. It only calculates base scores. “The problem is that sometimes your score might look a little higher [with Credit Karma]; it’s a very ‘sunny-day’ kind of scoring,” Rivero says.
Credit Monkey’s Broad Approach Like Rivero, Rostamian feels that most people are capable of improving
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their own credit. The first step he recommends is to find out what’s being reported on the credit report and going from there. “Sometimes improving credit can be as simple as paying down a balance or removing a negative item,” he says. “I would recommend they sign up with NerdWallet or Credit Sesame.” NerdWallet promotes itself as a source of “objective advice, expert information, and helpful tools.” It strives to help users make better financial decisions in banking, investing, credit cards, mortgages, loans, insurance, and other areas. Credit Sesame is a platform with various tools designed to help consumers improve their credit health to create better opportunities for themselves and their families. Another important credit scoreboosting tactic is to add accounts. Adding positive entries not only can build a positive credit history but can also help nullify negative items. Another effective but often overlooked strategy is to place the consumer as an authorized user on someone else’s account. “If somebody adds you as an authorized user on their credit card, it’s going to be reported on your credit,” Rostamian says. “Even if they pay late on their account, it will never be reported on the authorized user’s credit. But if you have high balances, you don’t want to add another person as an authorized user because it can affect their credit.” However, Rostamian says, most people who handle their own credit repair don’t do so effectively because of the many ins and outs involved. But if consumers want to avoid the complex intricacies, they can work with an established company—preferably, one that charges lower fees. Credit Monkey, which maintains an office in Fairbanks, is a viable option. “Most people charge thousands of dollars,” Rostamian says. “We charge $99 monthly or more depending on how many issues people have affecting their credit. Our goal is to help people in all fifty states.” Most people have numerous derogatory items on their credit report, so Credit Monkey focuses on addressing these negative issues. It has a direct connection with all three credit bureaus and is the first and only company that conducts disputes directly and electronically, according to Rostamian. In addition to challenging www.akbizmag.com
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negative items, Credit Monkey also adds positive accounts to the credit report. In fact, the company sets customers up with at least five positive credit accounts with entities such as Self Lender, My Jewelers Club, and First Access Visa. “Within the first sixty to ninety days, we get most things resolved,” Rostamian says. “But it can take twelve months to repair someone’s credit.”
Resources from Wells Fargo Like many financial experts, Shockley is a big proponent of consumers equipping themselves with knowledge so they can successfully enhance their credit. He explains: “There are a lot of adults out there who have not had a lot of exposure to financial education or the guidance necessary to truly understand their credit. Awareness and basic education are absolutely a need across the board.” People need to contemplate what their specific goals are, their spending necessities, and how they will track their credit and spending. From there, they need to implement an ongoing monitoring plan to ensure their credit history is spotless. “A good credit history doesn’t get built over night,” Shockley says. “However, a few derogatory items can have a quick and devastating effect. But having text and mobile alerts set up so you are aware when a bill is due or your cash flow is running low can go a long way toward helping you maintain good credit.” Wells Fargo has a number of online resources available to help consumers and businesses manage their credit. For example, mobile and text banking alerts can remind people that a bill is coming due and update them about their checking account. The Wells Fargo Smarter Credit Center and Business Credit Center, which can be found on the Wells Fargo Works for Small Business website, offers resources for everyone. Consumers can use the Smarter Credit Center to explore the many aspects of improving and rebuilding credit. The Business Credit Center offers an informative fact sheet with tips to help small business owners improve their creditworthiness. “Educational tools are great for supporting self-discovery and selfdirection with credit improvement. But having a partner to help distill 14 | December 2019
information and pinpoint what will be the most useful is an invaluable piece,” Shockley says. “You are able to do it on your own,” he says, “but if you’re looking for a way to have sustainable success, that partnership is absolutely crucial.” Credit reporting agencies also offer tools to help individuals better manage their credit. Consumers can request a free copy of their credit report every twelve months from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion by visiting annualcreditreport.com. Or they can order a free report directly from each of the credit bureaus’ websites. At Equifax.com, they can enroll in Core Credit for a free monthly Equifax credit report and VantageScore credit score. Similarly, Experian.com provides a free credit report with its CreditWorks basic account. Consumers can also pay to receive their FICO score and a host of creditenhancing services. Experian, for instance, charges up to $25 a month for access to three-bureau FICO scores, credit monitoring, fraud resolution, identity theft monitoring, and other services.
Enhancing Business Credit While most credit repair solutions focus on consumers, they also recommend some basic tactics that business owners can use to enhance their company’s credit history. First, it’s important to understand that business and personal credit are inherently separate records and are treated differently, according to Rivero. For example, individuals normally have more federally-guaranteed rights to correct their credit than businesses. Case in point: consumers have the legal right to get one free credit report per year, but companies have to pay $39 for an Experian CreditScore report. For businesses, credit improvement typically focuses more on establishing rather than enhancing, Rivero says. Expanding business credit involves what he considers to be on-the-report and off-the-report items. Taking care of on-the-report items can entail simple measures like making payments on time and keeping balances low. Some off-the-report items can include separating a personal and business checking account, having a separate phone number and address, filing taxes on the business, and even registering
411 information. These steps can help legitimize a business in the eyes of lenders and make a favorable impression on loan underwriters. In addition, it’s beneficial for business owners to register their company with the major credit bureaus as well as Dun & Bradstreet. They should also have three to five trade lines with vendors that report business credit. “It could be as simple as doing business with U-Line, an office supply company,” Rivero says.
Expert Advice Credit repair experts offer a plethora of general advice to help consumers build and repair their credit. Rivero encourages people to do their own research and become better informed about what affects their credit history. And if they need help with more complex issues, they can reach out to a nonprofit counseling agency. “If you can’t find one, consult with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling,” he says. Rostamian of Credit Monkey condenses his advice down to two key areas, saying: “Just make sure to have less debt ratio, and don’t be late on any payments. Once you’re late, it really starts to affect your credit.” Wells Fargo’s Shockley focuses on three main points: educate, plan, and monitor. He elaborates: “That education starts with knowing yourself, your habits, your goals, and what tools and resources are out there. Then you can create a plan that is suited to your goals. You can then monitor that plan to make sure it is working for you.”
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CONSTRUCTION
ASTAR in the Arctic
Big changes could be in store for far north communities By Brad Joyal
16 | December 2019
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
A
naktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Kaktovik, Nuiqsut, Point Hope, Point Lay, Utqiaġvik, and Wainwright account for the overwhelming majority of the North Slope Borough’s 9,000 permanent residents, but aside from Nuiqsut, which can be accessed by the Dalton Highway for four months of the year, the remaining Arctic communities are removed from the rest of the state. That may change in the future, creating new possibilities for the state’s Arctic infrastructure. According to Jeff Currey, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ (DOT&PF) Northern Region materials engineer, the North Slope may undergo changes that would see new road systems brought to the Arctic. “There’s a project in the works called ASTAR, and the idea of it is building year-round, all-weather roads from the Dalton Highway to some of the other communities on the North Slope, such as Utqiaġvik,” Currey says. “It’s probably a few years off, or it might not happen at all—it’s tough to say. But I do know
Potholes caused by a combination of heavy truck traffic and sustained rain, unlikely to be permafrost related, along the Dalton Highway. © Jeff Stutzke | DOT&PF
that the Department of Geological and Geophysical Surveys oversees that project and they’ve asked my group to support them with investigations. In fact, we had a helicopter up there this past summer looking for materials to build such roads.”
Changing the Landscape The Arctic Strategic Transportation and Resources project, or ASTAR, is under the purview of the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS). One of
ASTAR’s biggest projects—the idea of building a road system that would allow transportation throughout the Arctic—is unprecedented due to the materials that would be needed. Year-round overland connectivity to North Slope Borough communities would require permanent gravel infrastructure and would demand specialized construction methods, such as thicker gravel embankments or insulated embankments to preserve permafrost beneath the road. And while ASTAR is often connected to the
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“The overall mission of ASTAR is to identify and evaluate advanced opportunities for responsible infrastructure development which serve to enhance quality of life and economic opportunities in the North Slope Borough. The state, Arctic communities, and stakeholders are collaborating to strengthen the infrastructure and facilitate access to Arctic resources. ASTAR isn’t all about roads, it’s important to understand that. What we’re trying to do is better understand the resource distribution of sand and gravel resources.” Trent Hubbard, Geologist, Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys
vast road system project (which was first introduced in 2017 when thenGovernor Bill Walker’s administration announced $7.3 million in funding would be devoted to the endeavor), DGGS geologist Trent Hubbard is quick to point out that ASTAR isn’t solely focused on building roads in the Arctic. “The overall mission of ASTAR is
to identify and evaluate advanced opportunities for responsible infrastructure development which serve to enhance quality of life and economic opportunities in the North Slope Borough,” Hubbard says. “The state, Arctic communities, and stakeholders are collaborating to strengthen the infrastructure and facilitate access to Arctic resources. ASTAR isn’t all about
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roads, it’s important to understand that. What we’re trying to do is better understand the resource distribution of sand and gravel resources.” Hubbard notes that, for a forwardthinking project like ASTAR to come to fruition, it would be essential to utilize local resources as much as possible. That is why he is spearheading a search for sand and gravel in the region, primarily through terrain unit mapping and surface mapping. Hubbard says the focus for this past summer was in the NPR-A, specifically northeastern NPR-A, but that isn’t the only area the project is looking at. “There’s not a lot known about sand and gravel on the North Slope,” Hubbard says. “There’s not really a lot of good
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As permafrost melts and becomes less stable in northern Alaska, maintenance for existing infrastructure becomes more frequent and extensive. © Jeff Stutzke | DOT&PF
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sand and gravel material, especially on the north side of the Colville [River]. People need it for infrastructure and various things, so being able to find it is really important. We really just want to know exactly where the resources are.” Hubbard anticipates that all the data covering the Arctic’s available sand and gravel resources will be published within the next couple of years, if not sooner. “We’re trying to get a bunch of information out there so people can use it for planning and decision-making practices,” he says. “Whatever we found is certainly public data and we’ll publish it, but it’s got to go through our publication process, so it depends on how long that takes.”
DOT&PF is starting a paving project in summer 2020 that will address, among other issues, potholes and sinkage presumed to be due to a thawing permafrost wedge. © Jeff Stutzke | DOT&PF
Planning for a New Future On October 31, ASTAR released a database of North Slope project opportunities that would improve health and safety conditions, enhance workforce development, support community connectivity, improve access to education opportunities, preserve or enhance subsistence traditions, and lower the cost of goods
and services. The project opportunities, which include industry, community, and regional projects, identify the region’s infrastructure needs based on information ASTAR received at community engagement meetings and through reviews of the North Slope Borough Comprehensive Plan, individual community comprehensive plans, and capital improvement plans. ASTAR’s
online database includes a description of project opportunities and the benefits it would have on individual communities and the region as a whole. In addition to the expansive roadsystem project, the regional project opportunities also include a potential port project. In the project description, ASTAR says, “With longer open water seasons in recent years shipping lanes
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Shoulder settlement due to thawing permafrost, likely exacerbated by standing water, between MP 362 and MP 414 on the Dalton Highway.
“There’s not really a lot of good sand and gravel material, especially on the north side of the Colville [River]. People need it for infrastructure and various things, so being able to find it is really important.” Trent Hubbard Geologist, Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys
© Jeff Stutzke | DOT&PF
through Arctic regions are anticipated to increase.” ASTAR also states North Slope communities have expressed interest in “creating a port to regulate marine traffic, support incoming freight, spill response, boat launching, and docking.” ASTAR’s proposed port project includes a port or dock situated along the northern coast of Alaska. The database also identifies potential infrastructure projects for individual North Slope communities based on community engagement meetings. In a survey conducted by ASTAR, Anaktuvuk Pass residents identified preserving and enhancing subsistence opportunities and lowering the cost of goods and services as their essential priorities. “They expressed interest in a fiber optic extension, a road to the Dalton Highway, and access to vocational training,” the ASTAR database states. Nuiqsut residents “expressed interest in a marina or dock at Oliktok Point, development of a secondary water source, and improved access to vocational training,” during community engagement meetings. Most North Slope Borough communities are aligned with Anaktuvuk and Nuiqsut, citing their essential priorities as “lowering the costs of goods and services while preserving or enhancing subsistence tradition.” But ASTAR also was able to identify additional infrastructure projects that would benefit each individual community. In Point Hope, ASTAR identified improvements or a complete relocation of the 20 | December 2019
community’s airport as a potential change. “This project would provide needed airport improvements such as the construction of a small passenger shelter with a restroom; realignment of the runway; enhancing safety of the runway safety area (RSA); and rehabilitation of the existing nondirectional beacon (NDB) dipole antenna at the airport by replacing it with a guyed lattice-tower antenna and new ground plane and implementation of an aviation radar system.” Also in Point Hope, ASTAR laid out plans for a project to construct a seawall to prevent coastal erosion issues. “This multi-faceted project is intended to mitigate the effects of frequent storm surges and flooding on the community,” the project fact sheet states. “This project would examine the requirements for a community emergency evacuation route; the necessary infrastructure to facilitate safe evacuation; and the need for a seawall. This three-part plan would include the design and construction of 2,000 linear feet of seawall, as well as a 7-mile evacuation road and the drainage of Marryat Lagoon.” Among the project opportunities ASTAR identified in Wainwright are renovations at the Alak School and a docking facility and boat launch at Tupkak Bar Road. Improvements to the Wainwright Alak School include mechanical, electrical, doors, windows, lights, a new freezer unit, and extended bay in the bus barn— all of which need major repair and
upgrade. The Tupkak Bar Road project would solve Wainwright’s need for a barge facility and boat launch. The project would allow for more efficient barge loading and unloading than the current system that requires finding a transfer site on the beach. “This would allow Wainwright to establish a port authority. Crews and spill crews could launch their vessels safely and efficiently. A boat launch facility would be for whaling as well.”
Infrastructure Maintenance While ASTAR is an example of the state’s vision for enhancing Arctic infrastructure, Currey and the DOT&PF play a key role in maintaining the infrastructure that already exists, such as the majority of the region’s roads and some airports, including the Deadhorse Airport. While a few Arctic roads are asphalt, the majority are gravel, the preferred choice for roadways on the North Slope because they are cheaper to build and easier to maintain. The Deadhorse Airport’s runway is an exception, and the facility can manage asphalt because “it stays cold enough for the permafrost to stay frozen beneath it,” explains Currey. In most areas, that’s not the case. “When you pave a road, it changes the thermal regime compared to a gravel road,” Currey says. “If you’ve got a permafrost problem, you can make it worse by paving it. When you build a road [with gravel], you cover up the vegetation, which sort of acts as an insulator and
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removes heat from the ground.” As temperatures on the North Slope climb each year, the existing infrastructure has suffered in some areas. Maintenance superintendents report to Currey that they’ve had to repair the same sections of roads more frequently than they used to—and the repairs are more significant. “The temperature of permafrost has increased,” Currey says. “It’s still pretty cold by permafrost standards, but it’s much warmer than it used to be.” In particular, maintaining drainage features is vital as temperatures rise. “If permafrost does thaw, it tends to do it at the toes of the slope where a new road or embankment is sitting on top of the existing tundra and permafrost, so we tend to change the drainage patterns and create ponds alongside the road,” Currey says.
Opening ANWR to New Opportunities Expansive infrastructure could be coming to the state’s most prominent wildlife refuge. In September President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans to open the entire coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil and gas exploration. In doing so, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management moved closer to holding an oil and gas lease sale for the coastal plain, which includes 1.6 million of ANWR’s 19.3 million acres. The administration’s preferred plan includes construction of as many as four airstrips and numerous well pads in addition to 175 miles of roads, vertical supports for pipelines, a seawater-treatment plant, and a barge landing and storage site. A leasing plan is in the works, so exactly what may happen in ANWR is unknown, including what entities would be responsible for completing various projects or providing funds. “The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority… supports developments and funds construction and then gets paid back by fees or royalties over time. That’s how the road to Red Dog Mine was funded, and then over the years the Red Dog Mine has paid a ‘toll,’ essentially. It’s tough to say what would happen, but that’s one way [infrastructure in ANWR] could be funded,” Currey says. www.akbizmag.com
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ENERGY
A Missed Opportunity? Measuring the state’s potential for leading the renewable energy industry By Isaac Stone Simonelli
Alaska and Renewable Energy
22 | December 2019
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laska has some of the best renewable energy resources in the world, according to Renewable Energy Alaska Project Founder and Executive Director Chris Rose. Yet the current lack of a domestic energy policy, transmission costs, and the isolation of more than 200 communities create a challenging environment in which to develop those resources and bring them to market. “Alaska has no domestic energy policy focused on how Alaskans are going to reliably and affordably produce and consume energy. In an energy-constrained world increasingly concerned with climate change, this is a handicap,” Rose says. “Places around the globe that are seeing that local, clean, stably-priced, and inexhaustible renewable energy is the future are going to be the most prosperous places to be, and the ones that will attract the most outside investment. With as many renewable energy resources that Alaska has, the state should be actively working to seize the opportunity we have to keep money in local economies, create jobs, and be
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less dependent on volatile world fossil fuel prices.” There are six significant renewable energy resources in the Last Frontier: wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, solar, and marine hydrokinetic.
Arctic Wind In the Interior, the largest producer of renewable energy is Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA) through its wind turbines, which generate 24.6 megawatts that supplement energy from coal. The twelve Senvion turbines at the Eva Creek Wind Project were designed specifically for operating in a cold climate. “One of the benefits we have is our cold is very dry versus Eastern Canada, where it's very wet,” explains Frank Perkins, GVEA’s vice president of power supply. “So like an airplane, these wind turbines [in East Canada] can be subject to icing conditions. Fortunately, up here, we don't have that to be concerned with. So, we don't have to worry about specific blade heating or blatant coating technologies.” What the sub-Arctic conditions of the
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“Alaska has a great opportunity with tidal energy if the state chooses to seize it. Anchorage is one of the larger electric loads on the planet, located directly adjacent to one of the best known tidal resources.” Chris Rose, Executive Director Renewable Energy Alaska Project
December 2019 | 23
Interior do require, however, are builtin heaters that will warm up the units when the wind conditions are right, Perkins says. Wind power is particularly powerful in cold regions since cold air is denser and therefore able to produce more power than warm air, Rose says, noting that solar photovoltaic technologies also perform better in the cold.
Seasonal Solar
Biomass heating systems provide much-needed heat during Alaska's cold winters. ©Dan Bihns
“Low temperatures actually enhance solar PV production, as does snow cover, which reflects additional radiation back to solar panels,” explains Erin Whitney, the Solar Technologies Program manager at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power. “At least anecdotally, aging and degradation of solar panels seem to slow down in colder conditions as well, relative to installations in warmer climates.” Solar power is attractive to lodges and for other seasonal applications, as well as for residential urban applications as a way for homeowners to offset home energy costs, Whitney says. “The recent Solarize campaigns in
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Anchorage have significantly increased overall solar PV capacity along the Railbelt,” Whitney says. “At the end of 2018, there were a little over 200 net-metered solar PV systems on the Chugach and Municipal Light & Power grids in total. So far in 2019, there have been nearly 200 additional solar PV permits that have gone through the municipal permitting process in Anchorage.” In July the Municipality of Anchorage revealed 216 solar panels on top of the Egan Convention Center, unveiling what is now the state’s largest rooftop solar project, projected to produce 9 percent of the center’s annual electricity needs. “This is a sign that we can develop new industry in Anchorage and across Alaska,” Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said at the time. “We can do it in ways that are fiscally responsible and in ways that help satisfy our responsibility in terms of addressing climate change.” Though solar operates well in cold climates, Whitney points out that solar resources drop off considerably during the long, dark days in the winter. “But it is a viable energy source in early spring, summer, and into fall, which matches some seasonal applications quite well—lodges, fish processing plants, even an increased use of air conditioning units in warmer summers,” she says. Aiding this recent push to tap solar energy is the drop in panel prices by more than 80 percent from a decade ago, Rose says. “This has made solar PV an economic investment, even in places that may not see much production for 90 to 120 days per year. With less up-front investment costs, there is less pressure to get a return on investment twelve months per year,” Rose says. “Solar panels are becoming more like many appliances that many people purchase, even though they are not used 100 percent of the time. For example, we still purchase cars even though they are parked about 95 percent of the time.” Rose makes the argument that because of this price point, communities that already have controls for a renewable energy source, such as wind, can more easily increase the value of their system by integrating solar. “Renewable energy resources have had a positive effect on consumers in www.akbizmag.com
many parts of the state either through reduced or stabilized utility rates,” Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) Executive Director Curtis Thayer says. “Additional renewable energy sources can be developed where they make economic sense.”
Tidal Advancements One enormous opportunity Rose identifies within the renewable energy sector is tidal energy—not only as a solution for weening many coastal communities off of fossil fuels but also as an exportable technology. “Alaska has a great opportunity with tidal energy if the state chooses to seize it. Anchorage is one of the larger electric loads on the planet, located directly adjacent to one of the best known tidal resources,” Rose says. One advantage tidal energy has over wind and solar energy is its predictability, which allows tidal to be harnessed as a “base load” source that utilities could count on without the need to store the energy, unlike solar or wind. “Considering Anchorage’s extreme dependence on high-priced natural gas, the region could not only address a local
“Alaska has no domestic energy policy focused on how Alaskans are going to reliably and affordably produce and consume energy. In an energyconstrained world increasingly concerned with climate change, this is a handicap.”
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“Low temperatures actually enhance solar PV production, as does snow cover, which reflects additional radiation back to solar panels… At least anecdotally, aging and degradation of solar panels seem to slow down in colder conditions as well, relative to installations in warmer climates.” Erin Whitney, Solar Technologies Program Manager, Alaska Center for Energy and Power
energy problem, it could also become a world leader in a technology that is clearly one that other places around the planet will want to take advantage of. Alaska could create a tidal energy industry and export our expertise around the world,” Rose says. Hydroelectric energy already supplies a considerable percentage of the state’s electricity, about 25 percent in 2017, particularly in Southeast. However, hydrokinetic energy remains largely untapped. “Tidal and wave energy technologies are still emerging, but there is huge potential for both along Alaska’s vast coastline. The first permanent in-river hydrokinetic device in the United States was recently installed on the Kivchak River near the mouth of Lake Iliamna at Igiugig. The device is using technology very similar to what could be used in a tidal environment,” Rose says. The first turbine installed at Igiugig is projected to displace up to 45 percent of the diesel the community needs for electricity. Igiugig is anticipating that beneficial electrification will allow it to wean itself off fossil fuels and keep energy dollars in the community, Rose says. “Hydrokinetic energy has high potential that has not been realized yet,” confirms Jeremy Kasper, deputy director of the Alaska Center for Energy and Power and co-director of the Pacific Marine Energy Center. “Lack of widespread adaptation is… largely due to the immaturity of the industry but also failure to take into account environmental issues such as debris.” Unlike solar and wind energy, the potential for hydrokinetic energy in the Arctic and near-Arctic is significantly dampened by the cold climate. “In-river hydrokinetic resource is greatly reduced in winter when water levels and flow velocities decrease,” Thayer says. 26 | December 2019
Renewables in Alaska While Kotzebue, which is above the Arctic Circle, relies on wind and solar energy to reach intermittent renewable energy penetration of nearly 100 percent, according to Kasper, Kodiak mixes in hydroelectric power to achieve its intermittent penetration of nearly 100 percent. “Kodiak is generating 99.9 percent of its electricity today with a combination of hydroelectric, wind, flywheels, and batteries. It is a project that people around the world are examining,” Rose says. “Kodiak Electric Association is currently increasing the capacity of its hydro facility, which in turn will allow it to add more wind and more storage. Kodiak Electric Association is anticipating that people in Kodiak will increase the electric demand on the island by purchasing electric vehicles and installing air-source heat pumps.” The move to replace traditional energy sources with renewably generated electricity is known as beneficial electrification, which is steadily becoming a global trend. “In communities across the state, individuals are using highly efficient air-source heat pumps to heat their homes, replacing expensive heating oil,” Rose says. “In Southeast, people are using hydropower to run those pumps. Above the Arctic Circle, households in Ambler and Shungnak are installing solar and also relying on electricity that is subsidized by the state’s Power Cost Equalization program.” This trend is significant here, where heating is the primary energy cost Alaskans face. “Heat is actually a bigger issue for most communities, both in cost and in need,” Rose says. “In an Alaska winter, you can survive with less light but not less heat, and heating oil prices in remote, rural
communities are very high.” Biomass energy, a renewable solution, is performing well in some regions in Alaska as well, according to Amanda Byrd, Alaska Center for Energy and Power biomass coordinator and chief storyteller. Biomass heating units use cordwood, pellets, or woodchips to heat community centers, schools, senior centers, and more. “In many communities where there are trees, you can also find a biomass heating system. For example, there have been fifty-one biomass heating units installed in communities across Alaska with the help of the Alaska Energy Authority’s Renewable Energy Fund,” Byrd says. “They have offset many thousands of gallons of heating fuel every year. Biomass has been successfully installed in Southeast Alaska, especially the Southeast Island School District where systems heat schools and adjacent greenhouses.” There are also examples of biomass heating being used in Interior communities along the Tanana and Yukon rivers and even where there are pockets of wood resources in Western Alaska. “We have yet to crack the nut on the efficient, cost-effective, and dependable small-scale combined heat and power biomass unit for remote communities,” Byrd says. The issue of providing affordable energy to these remote Alaska communities has paved the way for the state becoming known worldwide as a hub for inDecation in remote microgrids, which integrate renewables into small, diesel-electric grids. “Many communities have learned from each other how to integrate relatively large percentages of renewables using advanced control systems, and increasingly, energy storage, such as lithium-ion batteries,” Rose says.
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do more value-added electricity by a certain date. That could drives the local market and brings processing at the local level and the jobs and economic activity such as state could attract new industries that manufacturing. Alaska has no such either rely heavily on energy or wish to use carbon-free energy.” standard,” Rose says. “If Alaska were 100 percent renewable for everything—electricity, heating, and transportation fuels—it would not impact the oil industry that has been the lifeblood of the state’s economy but has always been focused on the export market. “If Alaskans could enjoy stable energy prices through predictably AlaskaBusiness_2019.pdf 1 4/15/19 10:41 AM priced renewables, local communities AEA Staff
Addressing Hurdles One of the largest challenges remote communities still face is economy of scale. “For example, a wind project in a remote community that uses one or two 100 kilowatt turbines is going to be much more expensive than a project in the Midwest that uses hundreds of 2 megawatts turbines,” Rose says. “In addition to the scale issue, logistical costs to develop renewable energy in remote rural communities are typically much higher than costs along the Railbelt. Most materials must be barged in [as is fuel], and the cost of mobilizing a crane for a wind turbine installation in a remote community can be very substantial.” Additionally, upkeep costs can be detrimental to the feasibility of projects due to remote, harsh conditions. Thayer points out that remote communities are also less likely to have the trained workforce needed to maintain the systems. Bringing in trained workers from other parts of the state or from the Outside is very expensive and can lead to significant delays. “It is not uncommon for damaged installations to go for months before skilled technicians can get out to them,” Whitney says. Like some of these rural communities, many of the state’s renewable energy resources are stranded. “If a renewable energy resource is not located near a community or other ‘load,’ today it must at least be located near an existing transmission line in order to be economically utilized,” Rose says. “This means that Alaska has a huge amount of renewable energy resources that are effectively stranded. This is similar to North Slope natural gas that is stranded because there is not a gas pipeline or other facility to get the gas to market.” Rose says the largest hurdle for the state, however, lies at the feet of the legislature. Without domestic energy policy that pushes for the development of renewable resources and the creation of the technology needed to harness that energy, the state will flounder as it continues to remain reliant on fossil fuels. “Policy plays a large role in all our energy decisions. Twenty-nine states and numerous nations are mandating a certain percentage of renewable C
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Serving Alaska’s Smallest Patients Pediatricians care for the whole health of the state’s children By Isaac Stone Simonelli
© LifeMed Alaska
28 | December 2019
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Complicated Communication No matter where they work, one problem pediatricians are forced to troubleshoot is communication barriers. Children are often unable or have difficulty describing events or incidents that led to a medical issue or the severity of their pain or symptoms. “We have to take into consideration the developmental stages of kids, which changes quarterly in the early years of life,” says Dr. Wes Gifford, a pediatric hospitalist at Alaska Regional Hospital. “Understanding what they’re able to do is extremely important for interpreting their clinical presentation. For example, a six-month-old infant with a noticeable head lag and inability to roll from their chest to back is abnormal and suggests developmental delay which itself can be a harbinger of many different neurologic issues from brain tumors to subclinical seizures to child abuse. This kind of assessment is not in the wheelhouse for an adult doctor.” Another issue pediatricians face when it comes to communication is that it’s not just their patient they need www.akbizmag.com
information from; they also need to work with parents to get a full picture of the medical situation. “It takes a lot of social skills to help
“I think the biggest factor [preventing Alaska from recruiting pediatricians] is that newly trained specialists are afraid of being overworked. As a physician, you really can't go home at the end of the day if you're responsible for a patient and there's nobody else to transfer their care to.” Wes Gifford, Pediatric Hospitalist, Alaska Regional
parents feel comfortable with your recommendations and motivate them to comply with what you think is really necessary for their child. A big part of our job is to advocate for our patients; we need to ensure that parents are following through with our recommendations since children can’t look out for their own best interests,” Gifford says. “In the adult world, if a parent doesn't want to show up to clinic, it's their problem. But in the children's world, if they don't want to show up to the clinic, we have a burden to follow-up— and in some cases—notify the Office of Children’s Services.” Alaska Business
Limited Specialists These challenges are often compounded by additional obstacles like long-distance healthcare or difficulty accessing specialists. Child, who has been working as a pediatrician in Alaska for twelve years, explains that the state’s need for specialists varies from year to year. “Right now, we have six pediatric cardiologists, but we have only two gastroenterology specialists. We have no rheumatologists. So it kind of depends on which specialists we have in the state in any given year,” Child says. Even with the right specialists in Anchorage, there are occasions when Child determines it’s in her patient’s best interest to fly to a facility in the Lower 48 where the necessary specialists can provide backup in a worst-case scenario. Gifford notes that while Alaska does have many specialists, the bimodal nature of its healthcare system makes it more difficult to provide the same sort of wraparound services available at a fully integrated children’s hospital. “We have this discombobulated system where the Native system is essentially running parallel to the nonNative system,” Gifford says, noting that working for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium is essentially taking a federal job, while other practices in the state are essentially private practices. “I really love the Native system because it provides culturally sensitive and directed care to this community, and I’m also very impressed with the care delivered by the private practices outside of the Native system, but in a sense [these paralleling systems], this division, ends up limiting many pediatric patients’ access to some subspecialists.” Even taking into account both healthcare systems, there are still holes in the spectrum of specialists or subspecialists practicing in the state. According to Gifford, there isn’t a pediatric geneticist, pediatric biochemical geneticist, or a pediatric rheumatologist. There are some pediatric psychiatrists, but not enough, Gifford says. “There's an increased need for pediatric psychiatrists everywhere in the country, and Alaska is certainly no different. As an example of a recent situation in Alaska, I saw a teenager in the emergency department after December 2019 | 29
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he bimodal nature of our state’s healthcare system, pressure on pediatric specialists, and the rugged nature of the state are all challenges facing pediatricians who practice in Alaska. “The way I heard it when I was a student was most healthcare providers walk into the pediatric floor and think it's the saddest part of the hospital, right? Because there are sick kids,” says Dr. Monique Child of Polar Pediatrics. “Some of us walk in there and go: this is the best part—there are popsicles and stickers and kids get better.” Child points out that unlike many instances in adult medicine, children’s bodies seem determined to heal themselves. “The beautiful thing about kids and pediatrics is that if you're lucky, even when something is bad, like let's say a congenital heart defect or something's wrong with the heart, the whole rest of the body is working to get better,” Child says. “When I was doing adult medicine, it sometimes felt like you tried to fix something with a heart by adding a medicine or doing something and the kidneys don't like it or the liver goes off line. And so you end up chasing your tail.”
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“I've had to make policies here at the office to make sure parents can pay me whatever they can and finance with zero percent for as long as they need so they're not worried about the fact that they have a deductible. For some families, a $500 deductible might not mean anything, but for another family, $500 could mean whether or not they can go to the grocery store this month.” Monique Child, Pediatrician, Polar Pediatrics
a suicide attempt by overdose of a dangerous medication. I admitted them to my medical service due to medical complications from the overdose.” But when the patient was medically cleared to go home a few days later, Gifford was unable to find a psychiatrist to come to the hospital and evaluate the child, and the social workers on shift had little adolescent mental health training. Gifford explains his only two options at the time were to discharge the patient from the hospital and to the emergency department at Providence by ambulance or to discharge the patient without a proper psychiatric evaluation, despite the suicide attempt. “I spent four hours prior to [the patient’s] discharge trying to find an outpatient counselor that would accept this patient’s insurance and be able to start seeing the patient in less than a month. Passing this insurance/ scheduling burden on to the family or to another clinician would have been irresponsible. “I mean, it's just a mess… basically, I was functioning like a social worker, psychiatrist, and the pediatrician all at
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credentialing, and maintenance of certification; greater attention to customer service; increased liability risks; and the ongoing intricacies of electronic medical records, are making young doctors more hesitant to be oncall day and night, Gifford says. “Younger physicians are really trying to balance all of these new demands that are put on their shoulders,” Gifford says. “They increasingly want to be put into situations where they’re salaried and employed in a system that is going to, sort of, protect them. But in Alaska, for historical reasons, a lot of the care is given via private practice entities, which is dissimilar to the systems they trained under.”
Improving Health Statewide Child started her private pediatric practice about a decade ago. She says that two of the biggest issues facing child healthcare can be boiled down to a lack of universal healthcare and lack of access to nutritious foods in many parts of the state. “If you’ve got a sick kid, I want you to have access. I really hope we get
to a place in the country where we have universal healthcare. We're not quite there yet, but I'm hoping we do get there,” Child says, noting that she worked with the Obama Administration on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. “I've had to make policies here at the office to make sure parents can pay me whatever they can and finance with zero percent [interest] for as long as they need so they're not worried about the fact that they have a deductible. For some families, a $500 deductible might not mean anything, but for another family, $500 could mean whether or not they can go to the grocery store this month.” Insurance issues can be compounded by the costs of travel in Alaska, which has more than 200 remote communities beyond the reach of the road system, Child says, noting that she’s had patients travel from Adak and smaller villages to her office for care. “I think access to healthy foods [is also an issue]. I would love to see us, as a state, fund fruits and vegetables and healthy eating options in more rural and remote places. And, even here
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once and taking on the risk of liability as well,” Gifford says. He asserts this scope of responsibility might be one of the reasons that the state struggles to recruit pediatric specialists. “I think the biggest factor is that newly trained specialists are afraid of being overworked. As a physician, you really can't go home at the end of the day if you're responsible for a patient and there's nobody else to transfer their care to,” Gifford says. “So you're morally—and I believe legally—responsible for continuing to work until you have back up. If you don't have back up, you're trapped: your sleep is gone, your family life is gone, your vacation is gone, and everything is gone. “If you don't have a system that's going to protect you, you're just going to get chewed up and spit out. It's actually a small miracle that we have some good doctors in town that are willing to be that on-call doctor all the time.” The demands of our modern healthcare system, in which there are more medications; more diagnoses; more necessary steps to licensing,
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“I would love to see us, as a state, fund fruits and vegetables and healthy eating options in more rural and remote places.” Monique Child, Pediatrician, Polar Pediatrics
in Anchorage, helping us lower the prices,” Child says. “One of the best things I saw was some of the farmer markets now accept food stamps.” Gifford says he also believes that certain preventative care measures are essential to pediatric health, especially immunizations. “It is the single most cost-effective thing that we do,” Gifford says. Another important part of pediatrics is providing well-child visits, which are designed so that pediatricians can check on a child’s growth and development. “There are so many things that you can interpret from a growth chart that the family may not realize,” Gifford says. “For example, the second most common form of cancer in children is brain tumors. Just tracking a child’s 32 | December 2019
head circumference can often clue the clinician into the problem. The family may not notice this problem because the head circumference may only be a centimeter off. If the kid is going to all their well-child visits, the pediatrician can pick up something literally months or years before it would otherwise be identified.” Well-child visits also help pediatricians identify mental health issues early, Gifford says. “There are a lot of resources that are available for these kids, but if you don’t pick up on problems early it puts you behind... When a kid's already depressed and cutting themselves or thinking about mechanisms of suicide, it takes a lot more time and effort to provide the help needed,” Gifford says. In an already complicated field
of medicine that requires the skills of various specialists to provide full wraparound services, pediatricians in the Last Frontier face a daunting task of providing for one of the state’s most vulnerable populations. And, yet the state does boast many specialists and dedicated pediatricians. “Because we're concerned about the safety of the child… we don't get to rest just when we send the child home, we get to rest when the child is better,” Gifford says. “Pound for pound, one child patient can sometimes weigh a lot more than a patient in the adult world because of the burdens of the additional care needed to serve these small patients.”
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Navigating Medicaid How small healthcare providers in Alaska work with Medicaid to deliver vital services By Amy Newman
34 | December 2019
edicaid was enacted by the federal government in 1965 to pay for certain healthcare services for low-income families with dependent children and the aged, blind, and disabled. Though federally mandated, states share the cost of the program with the federal government, and each state creates and manages its own Medicaid plan, subject to federal approval. Over time the program has grown to include more than fifty mandatory and optional eligibility groups; Medicaid expansion in 2015 further increased the number of Alaskans eligible for Medicaid. According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, which administers the state plan, Alaska’s
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not even know it.” Dee Berline, Owner, Therapy by Deesign
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Medicaid program covers more than 200,000 men, women, and children, providing access to healthcare services they couldn’t otherwise afford. Healthcare providers aren’t required to accept Medicaid and for small businesses, the idea of dealing with the bureaucratic red tape that often accompanies government programs can make it seem like an unattractive option. And while some of those concerns are valid, they aren’t insurmountable. “When you’ve got good front office staff, it’s not that terrible,” says Heidi Bennetts, chief administrative warrior at Alchemy Orthotics & Prosthetics in Anchorage. “You just have to have someone in that front seat who has a backbone and is kind and capable of directing people in the right direction and eloquently explaining what the rules are.”
Becoming a Medicaid Provider Healthcare providers and facilities that want to become an authorized Medicaid provider must apply through the state’s online provider portal. There are no prohibitions on who can accept Medicaid, so long as providers offer a www.akbizmag.com
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“The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services will change something, but you can’t find it anywhere in their policies. They don’t update their policies fast enough to catch up with what the new ruling is, so you can be out of compliance and
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“If there’s a service that’s covered, then any willing provider who enrolls can provide that service.” Monique Martin Director of Government Relations and Regulatory Navigation, Alaska Regional Hospital
covered service and can produce the required documentation. “If there’s a service that’s covered, then any willing provider who enrolls can provide that service,” explains Monique Martin, director of government relations and regulatory navigation at Alaska Regional Hospital. Some documents, like a National Provider Identifier, current business license, proof of malpractice insurance, and proof of professional licenses, are required of all providers. Other
TRICARE® approved facility
information, like certifications or accreditations, are specific to each practice area. None of it, though, is that different from what’s necessary to become a preferred provider for any other insurance company. “For credentialing it’s not any different than getting into a [preferred provider organization],” says Cathy Bessent, office manager at Alaska Dentistry for Kids, a pediatric dental practice in Anchorage. “You have to show your medical malpractice insurance, your licensing, and a history of practice. It’s pretty minor when it comes to that. It’s just time consuming because you have to pull all that up.” First time applicants, those wishing to reenroll in the program, and providers up for revalidation, which occurs every three to five years, must pay an application fee. According to the department website the fee for 2019 is $586, although the amount changes annually. Medicaid providers are also subject to federal and state audits and, effective June 2018, must perform self-audits once every two years. The selfaudit requirement was implemented
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One of the biggest concerns for Medicaid providers is the reimbursement rate. Healthcare providers who accept Medicaid are contractually obligated to accept the reimbursement rate, which is set by the Office of Rate Review. The established rates, however, aren’t always commensurate with the provider’s actual fee. “Medicaid is not a great payer and, in some cases, pays less than what the service costs,” Martin says. Like contracts with private insurance companies, providers cannot seek reimbursement from patients for the difference between Medicaid’s allowable rate and the provider’s actual fee, a process known as balance billing. “When you contract with Medicaid you agree to their fee schedule,” Bennetts says. “You accept the Medicaid rate as payment in full.” Bessent estimates that Medicaid’s
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Medicaid Billing Medicaid’s billing process can also cause headaches with excess paperwork and delayed payments, particularly if Medicaid isn’t a patient’s primary source of coverage. “If you’ve got a clean claim—and what I mean by a clean claim is nothing got kicked back for being missed—it’s usually within a week or two that you get paid,” Bennetts says. Where the process can get difficult is with cases in which a patient is covered by both private insurance and Medicaid. “A normal patient that comes in and we can check eligibility and get things sent in and the only insurance they have is Medicaid or Denali Kid Care, their claims pretty much sail through,” Bessent says. “We don’t have a lot of problems with that; the problems come into play when you’re dealing with a third-party payer.” Because Medicaid is a payer of last resort, providers must submit all claims to the patient’s primary insurance before submitting to Medicaid, Bessent explains. That requirement stands even if they know that the patient’s primary insurance doesn’t cover a procedure.
Until Medicaid increased its reimbursement rates for orthotics and prosthetics this year—the first increase in twelve years—Alchemy Orthotics & Prosthetics owner Wil Sundberg says his practice was only reimbursed for one-fifth of what it cost to make the devices his patients needed. Alchemy Orthotics & Prosthetics
“It’s very cumbersome, because for every visit you must bill to that third-party insurance and get a denial,” she says. “If treatment is parceled out over several months, it delays payment.” Bennetts agrees that the rules when Medicaid is a secondary payer can cause problems. “They don’t allow electronic claims for secondary coverage, you can only submit them on paper,” she says. “If it’s not lined up properly, it gets kicked back. If it’s handwritten, it gets kicked back. I have to say that’s the only pain in the butt.” Despite the quirks, Bennetts says the
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reimbursement rates for dental services are 65 to 70 percent of Alaska Dentistry for Kids’ fees. The sheer bulk of the office’s Medicaid case load helps offset the amount the practice must write off. “I would say our patient load is probably 40 percent Medicaid, so it’s not horrible when you consider the amount of treatment that we see,” she says. “It is profitable to us.” That wasn’t the case for Alchemy Orthotics & Prosthetics, which provides orthotic and prosthetic devices to patients with amputations, abnormal gaits, or other skeletal deformities. Owner Wil Sundberg says reimbursement rates for durable medical equipment had not increased in twelve years, putting their rates 20 percent below those of other providers. “You would submit a $5,000 payment and get reimbursed one-fifth of that, maybe,” he says. After years of “getting the run around,” Senator Cathy Giessel was finally able to get reimbursement rates increased. “It didn’t make up for the [lean] years, but at least it got us back in the game,” he says.
HEALTHCARE SPECIAL SECTION
Wil Sundberg, owner of Alchemy Orthotics & Prosthetics, works on a prosthetic leg. Alchemy fabricates prosthetic and orthotic devices for adults and children out of its Anchorage office. Alchemy Orthotics & Prosthetics
billing process is manageable. “I guess that’s just a matter of perspective,” she says. “If you’ve got a decent system in place, it’s not that difficult at all.”
Changing Political Landscape Funding for Alaska’s Medicaid program has been a constant source of debate in Juneau, with lawmakers looking at methods of cost containment ranging from a proposed 5 percent rate reduction (which went into effect October 1) to the elimination of certain covered services like adult dental. Uncertainty over what services the state will continue to fund and at what rate—as well as whether the state will have the money to pay its bills at all—can negatively affect a provider’s willingness to accept Medicaid. “When you stop doing rate rebasing, when you withhold inflation, when you cut provider rates, there’s a point where you start to go backwards,” Martin says. “If states reduce reimbursement too much, it could really impact a provider’s willingness to take Medicaid recipients because that’s not a really good business model.” Others take a more cynical view. “The paranoid part of me says, ‘Let’s make it so hard for providers and pay so little so they won’t want to accept Medicaid anymore,’” says Dee Berline, a pediatric occupational therapist and owner of Therapy by Deesign in Anchorage, of the state’s actions. “I don’t know that that’s true, but I don’t know that I’m the only one that says that.” 38 | December 2019
These concerns leave many providers wondering whether they’ll need to scale back or even stop accepting Medicaid altogether. “There’s always the looming threat of the state not making payments when they’ve run out of money,” Martin says. That’s especially true for providers like Alchemy, which provides its patients with a tangible product. Sundberg likens it to squeezing “all of the toothpaste out of the tube,” though he says it’s a problem his practice faces not just with Medicaid but insurance companies as well. “We front everything that walks out the door,” Bennetts explains of the prosthetics and orthotics Alchemy makes for its patients. “We have to pay our suppliers for whatever was used to make that device. That’s what gets scary— what’s the longevity of the company?” Changing politics aren’t the only concerns. Delays in the department’s ability to update its online manuals to reflect policy changes is another source of frustration, with providers sometimes not realizing changes have been made until a claim is denied. “[The department] will change something, but you can’t find it anywhere in their policies,” Berline says. “They don’t update their policies fast enough to catch up with what the new ruling is, so you can be out of compliance and not even know it.” The state’s emergency reduction of Medicaid reimbursement rates this past June is the most recent example. Berline gets the state’s online public notices via email and knew about the reductions.
But she says she knows others who found out only when they began receiving reduced payments. Bessent was one who was caught unaware. “It’s probably my responsibility to know about it, but it was kind of a shock,” she says. “It would’ve been nice to have a letter or some advanced time.” Despite concerns over funding and the sometimes cumbersome billing practices, providers say there are definite advantages to accepting Medicaid. One is the promise of an almost steady income stream. “I’ll be honest with you, one of the advantages is they pay weekly,” Berline says. “For the most part, what Medicaid pays, they pay on time.” There’s also the satisfaction that comes with providing medical care to people who would be unable to pay outof-pocket, with many providers seeing it as a form of altruism. “Some providers take Medicaid patients not because they want to get rich but because they think it’s the right thing to do,” Martin says. It’s a sentiment echoed by Sundberg, made stronger by the fact that the equipment he provides directly affects his patients’ livelihood. “If we can provide [our patient] a leg or fix up what they have, that means they can work and pay for their family and become a productive member of society,” he says. “It’d be difficult to know you can fix something and have the ability to do it, and you just elected not to take Medicaid.”
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Healthcare in an Arctic Oil Field What medical care looks like on the North Slope By Sam Davenport
40 | December 2019
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“Up on the North Slope, our providers are some of the finest that I’ve ever known… those patients that come in with an acute heart attack, they get state-of-the-art care—they just are three to four hours away from a cath lab.” John Hall, Medical Director, Beacon Occupational Health and Safety Services
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O
n Alaska’s isolated North Slope—more than 650 miles from Anchorage via airplane— thousands of individuals work in the oil and gas industry. While many of those employees have their medical needs covered by their employers, what happens if someone gets hurt or sick? How do the nearly 10,000 people who reside within the North Slope Borough’s boundaries receive medical care? Beacon Occupational Health and Safety Services has ten remote medical locations across the North Slope; six are accessible by car and three are situated on islands, accessed by ice roads in the winter and marine vessels in the summer. The tenth location is only accessible by plane. “To put it into perspective, our closest location is about fifteen minutes away from the airport where a medevac would take place, so Guardian support, LifeMed, et cetera, would be there to support getting a patient off the slope,” says Amanda Johnson, Beacon’s vice president of medical and training services. “Then, the furthest from that location is about two hours away… And then there are others that are within about twenty to thirty minutes of each other.” Johnson says very few patients who visit Beacon’s clinics are yearround North Slope residents. Some are transient or visitors to the state, tourists, or otherwise—but the majority are there for work, generally on behalf of an oil field operator or contractor. Johnson says their clinics receive upward of 12,000 visits a year. “Even though there could be days without a major traumatic event, when that event takes place, our team's ability to respond is really key to our success,” Johnson adds. Dr. John Hall, medical director at Beacon, has been working in the medical field on the North Slope for nearly forty years. “We’ve always had good, quality PAs [physician assistants], and Beacon makes sure that all of our PAs have good, emergency medicine experience,” he says. “Then we teach them occupational medicine if they don’t already have it.” In addition to his role at Beacon, Hall also works in the emergency department at Providence Alaska Medical Center, so he sees first hand
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GUARDIANS OF THE NORTH SLOPE
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uardian Flight Alaska’s mission is “to provide safe, compassionate, and efficient air medical transportation,” across Alaska, including Southeast, Southcentral, Western Alaska, the Aleutian Chain, and the Arctic, a region the company expanded into in 2018 when it established a base in Deadhorse. “We’ve been up there just over a year now… we weren’t sure about the demand, but the demand has been pretty steady throughout the entire year. We are pleased that we made the decision to start operating on the North Slope,” reports Guardian Flight Alaska Executive Director Jared Sherman. He says Guardian Flight Alaska expanded to North Slope operations to better
service the people there. Weather on the North Slope can significantly delay transportation, and the delay is even longer when a plane needs to first fly from Fairbanks to reach the patient. “[If] we are on site [on the Slope], we have a lot better opportunity to get out because you’re not projecting the weather three or four hours out; when you get the window of good weather, you can leave then.” Sherman gives the example of a recent transport: “The crew that did the transport contacted me afterwards, and they said having a plane in Deadhorse just saved a life… The patient had a severe heart attack, but oddly had a pretty good physical presentation. The weather was bad enough
that we could not have landed there from Fairbanks. They had to wait for weather to clear a little bit, but within seventy-five minutes of the patient arriving at the clinic [they were able to fly out]. So they made it to the cath lab in Anchorage without his presentation deteriorating despite a 90 percent-plus occlusion [the blockage or closing of a blood vessel].” Most of the patients that Guardian Flight Alaska services are workers in the oil field, though some are North Slope residents. The patient’s healthcare provider determines if and when a patient needs to be transported off the slope and to which facility the patient should be transported, at which point the healthcare
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provider will coordinate with Guardian Flight Alaska. Working well with healthcare providers is pivotal for the medevac company, and the Alaska Arctic is a unique living and working environment that presents a steep learning curve. “Early on we had to learn the cadence of the North Slope; getting through security to get to clinics, those types of things, were just not the norm for everywhere else we operate. But the industry has been super supportive and really helped us solve those types of problems,” he says. “We did a ton of work with each of the clinics just to let them know what our capabilities are and that they can notify us early on so we can be even more ready to support them.”
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Beacon’s remote medical facilities aren’t equipped with the same tools or technology as a major health center in a populous area, but they are able to stabilize patients and expedite their care to another location when necessary. “If somebody has a heart attack up there, we don’t keep them there,” Hall says. “We can give them medicine that dissolves the clot, and we can start an IV, and if we have to we can breathe for them—we can do all that stuff—but none of those patients that have something serious like that end up staying there; they all go off-Slope.” Fairweather also offers a diverse scope of remote medical support, including paramedics and EMT-3s, physician assistants, and remote medical clinics. “Our medical providers (EMT-3/ paramedics or physician assistants) are often working as a one-person provider in makeshift clinics with limited space, as opposed to in an urban setting where providers have the comfort of space and additional support,” says Jon Majors, remote medical program manager for Fairweather. Majors says common challenges of
working in remote Alaska include extreme weather, added time for transportation, and a lack of reliable communication. “Those are all factors that have to be taken into consideration; now also consider the additional component of medical supplies that have short shelf
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some of the differences of working in an urban center versus remote oil field. He says Beacon’s remote medical professionals—emergency medical technicians, paramedics, physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and nurse practitioners—have smaller teams than those based in urban areas. For example, if a patient suffers from an acute heart attack, Hall says he typically has eight people assisting him in Anchorage, but on the North Slope it may be just a handful. And more than just staffing levels, what each healthcare professional actually does is different. “[Beacon’s remote medical professionals] have to start IVs, they have to mix medicines, they have to do all that stuff while making arrangements to get the person transferred out,” Hall says. “Logistically, they have problems and they can’t just stand at the head of the bed and say, ‘You start an IV, you mix up the medicine, you do this, you do that, you take vital signs, you put on the oxygen.’ They have to do a lot of that stuff themselves and with a few people that they’ve trained to help them.”
HEALTHCARE SPECIAL SECTION
One of Fairweather's deployed remote medical clinic buildings on the North Slope, where paramedics, EMT-3s, and physician assistants treat patients. Fairweather
44 | December 2019
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Hall says they will fly out any patient they think will medically deteriorate if they wait. Patients who have diabetes or have suffered a heart attack are common, but Hall says they recently flew out an individual with a hernia trapped outside of the body. If the individual’s symptoms are less severe and/or non-life threatening, like dental pain, a physician assistant can start them on antibiotics and patients can see a dentist when they have time off. When it is necessary to move someone, “patients are medevaced off in several different ways,” Hall says. “They can go on a charter: so if somebody has a simple problem, let's say they fell and broke their wrist, then we can put it in a splint and send them on the charter. If they’re a little bit sicker and we think they might need some medicine on the charter, we send them with an escort.” “There are few cases where a lesser fracture may be flown via commercial airline instead of medevac—either accompanied or unaccompanied by medical staff—to Fairbanks or Anchorage,” Majors says.
While employee health and safety is obviously important to employees and their families, it’s vital to employers on the North Slope, as well. “Companies really pay attention to that because they, too, want to ensure that their individuals are safe on and off the job,” Johnson says. “They’re up there for fourteen or twenty-one days at a time and this is their only medical care within hours. All operators have an interest in preventative care as well… infectious disease for the most part, and how are we preventing things from spreading across the geographic space, especially in a controlled environment.” “Up on the North Slope, our providers are some of the finest that I’ve ever known… those patients that come in with an acute heart attack, they get state-of-the-art care—they just are three to four hours away from a cath lab,” Hall adds. “So they have to not only treat them initially, but they have to continue to treat them until they turn them over to the air ambulance… they get the same kind of excellent care up there, and I think mainly because of the providers that we’re able to put up there.”
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lives or that must be maintained in a climate-controlled environment, or the potential to be ‘weathered’ out and a medevac may not be available for hours,” Majors says. There are a number of illnesses— such as high fever—that Fairweather can treat on-site to minimize turnover in the workforce. But if a patient needs to be transported, Fairweather helps coordinate medevacs for the patient with medical air ambulance providers. “When we provide services for our clients, one of the first steps is to create an emergency response plan which outlines what to do in the event of an emergency that results in a medevac; we identify the points of contact, chain of command, potential backup options, and the order in which notifications are sent out,” Majors says. Patients are often flown to facilities that can provide a higher level of care, primarily in Fairbanks or Anchorage, but a number of factors are considered when deciding which facility in what city, such as if the injury is work-related, the condition of the patient, insurance, and weather conditions.
HEALTHCARE SPECIAL SECTION
Granting Healthcare More than $18 million infused in Alaska communities to improve medical care By Sam Davenport
46 | December 2019
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
physician assistants, dentists, nurses, behavioral health, and other medical professionals. She says grant funds will be used to support and increase access to integrated behavioral health services. This includes the treatment of mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and chronic disease management. “We were able to hire an additional full-time behavioral health case manager who will work in coordination with our current medical and behavioral health case managers,” West says. The case manager will work in
coordination with providers to support patients with their care plans to remove barriers, follow up with specialty providers, provide patient education, increase community awareness, and implement additional group therapy classes—some of which include parenting classes, suicide prevention, substance use, and pain management. Funds will also be used for continuing clinical education of the Center’s behavioral health team. “The $35,000 quality award will be used to further our quality program through trainings, IT enhancements for
$100,000 | United Way Sandy Stora, director of marketing for United Way of Anchorage, says the funds awarded to her organization will be used to provide free and confidential Marketplace Insurance information and enrollment assistance to Alaskans by trained healthcare navigators. This service can be conducted either inperson or virtually and will be available to the entire state. United Way of Anchorage Support Navigators was awarded $100,000. “Understanding your health insurance options and making informed decisions about coverage is vital to the health and financial security of every Alaskan,” Stora says. “Healthcare navigators with United Way of Anchorage serve as trusted resources.” Stora says that Alaskans can call 2-1-1 to receive help with healthcare coverage. “Health insurance is complicated. Navigators can help Alaskans get answers and get covered.”
$202,000 | Sunshine Community Health Center North of Anchorage is the Sunshine Community Health Center, which has a clinic in Talkeetna and one in Willow. The center was awarded $167,000 as a supplemental grant for Integrated Behavioral Health Services; a grant of $35,000 was awarded to the health organization for quality improvements. Melody West is the executive director of the center, which employs doctors, www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
December 2019 | 47
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I
n September, US Congressman Don Young announced that $18 million in Health and Human Services grants would be dispersed to Alaska healthcare organizations and services around the state. “Our state’s unique geography can present many roadblocks when it comes to the delivery of essential healthcare services,” Young said in a September press release. “Time and time again Alaska’s healthcare providers have been able to rise to the occasion to deliver high-quality care in our cities, rural areas, and Native communities.” Some grants will fund specific projects and initiatives while others will continue ongoing programs. Other grants will open doors for more opportunities in urban and rural Alaska, such as new job positions or virtual medical assistance.
HEALTHCARE SPECIAL SECTION
data analysis, and audits,” West says. ”This was based on quality measures that we report to HRSA each year.”
$212,586 | Village of Eyak Out in Cordova is the Native Village of Eyak, which was awarded two different grant amounts, one for $167,000 and the other for $45,586. Kari Collins, health and wellness director of the Ilanka Community Health Center in the Native Village of Eyak, says the larger grant allowed them to expand their team. “After administrative costs, this award has allowed us to hire a full time RN case manager who will assist in further bridging our behavioral health and medical services together,” Collins says. The case manager will work with clients with substance use disorders, many of whom also suffer from other medical issues like malnutrition or chronic pain. “Our case manager will be able to assist these clients to get their medical and social needs met by helping them to navigate the very complicated pathways to other services and appointments,”
Collins says. “Conversely, many people who come to the Ilanka clinic for medical services may also benefit from behavioral health counseling. For example, someone who is a diabetic may suffer from depression or pain issues. Our case manager will be able to assist these patients in receiving care that they might not have thought of. This is a new position for us and we are excited to offer expanded services to people who need just that little bit of extra time and attention.” The $45,000 grant awarded to the center will support the clinic’s quality improvement, quality assurance, and outreach. “Some of these activities are related to data tracking and submission. Others are outreach efforts: assisting patients with annual diabetes, hypertension, and cardiac visits,” Collins says. “Ilanka also co-hosts an annual health fair each year, and these funds assist us in providing medical supplies and information to community members.”
$450,000 Cook Inlet Tribal Council Cook Inlet Tribal Council Inc., a
nonprofit organization that provides services to Alaska Native and Native Americans living in the Cook Inlet region, received two grants, one for $150,000 and the other for $300,000. Tim Blum, senior marketing communications specialist at Cook Inlet Tribal Council, says that the funds will be used for substance abuse prevention and treatment.
$2.5 Million Kenaitze Indian Tribe The Kenaitze Indian Tribe, located in Kenai, was awarded about $2.5 million according to Rachel Gilbert, education director for the tribe. The grant will fund their organization's longstanding Head Start program, which provides centerbased services to preschool children who are three and four years old. “The Tribe’s Head Start program is one component of our Tribal Education division,” Gilbert says. “The division includes a home-based Early Head Start, Head Start, after-school program, Yaghanen prevention and early intervention program, and a scholarships and career training program. The Early
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HEALTHCARE SPECIAL SECTION Youth and Young Adult Services students work on an assignment in a leadership class in 2018. Fairbanks Native Association
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Alaska Business
December 2019 | 49
HEALTHCARE SPECIAL SECTION
In total, more than thirty-five healthcare organizations and service providers were awarded funding from the $18 million allocated to Alaska for Health and Human Services and announced by US Congressman Don Young. The complete list of awardees with grant totals for this allocation are listed here. Alaska Department of Health:
$2,737,135
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium:
$2,239,125
Aleutian Pribilof Island Associations:
$223,636
Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center:
$203,000
Barati Medical:
$344,877
Bethel Family Clinic Alaska Initiative:
$45,063
Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation:
$183,932
Bristol Bay Borough:
$155,505
City of Seward:
$206,800
Cook Inlet Native Head Start:
$3,339,120
Cook Inlet Tribal Council:
$450,000
Council of Athabascan Tribal Government:
$179,572
Cross Road Health Ministries:
$207,623
Eastern Aleutian Tribes: Fairbanks Native Association:
$86,768 $1,094,460
Girdwood Health Clinic:
$175,767
Iliuliuk Family and Health Services:
$217,065
Interior Community Health Center: Kenaitze Indian Tribe:
$96,310 $2,562,861
Kodiak Area Native Association:
$302,594
Kodiak Island Health Care Foundation:
$242,634
Manillaq Association:
$173,000
Mat-Su Health Services:
$202,000
Municipality of Skagway: Norton Sound Health Corporation:
$9,361 $246,454
Peninsula Community Health Services of Alaska:
$213,110
The Qawalangin Tribe:
$325,000
Seldovia Village Tribe:
$51,833
Southcentral Foundation:
$232,974
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium:
$167,000
Sunshine Community Health Center:
$202,000
Tanana Chiefs Conference:
$50,667
United Way of Anchorage Support Navigators:
$100,000
Village of Eyak:
$212,586
Yakutat Tlingit Tribe:
$167,000
Yakutat Tlingit Tribe Health Center Cluster: Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation: Source: Office of Congressman Don Young
50 | December 2019
$15,556 $1,104,408
Head Start, Head Start, and afterschool programs are no-fee services that are open to Native and non-Native children, regardless of household income. Yaghanen is open to any child from age six through twelfth grade.” Kenaitze Indian Tribe received an initial award in March to increase service hours from 576 to 1,020 a year. The application also included a line item for construction funding, which will go toward an education facility the Tribe is building on the Kenai Peninsula. “Construction will begin next year on land the Tribe purchased this spring,” Gilbert says.
$325,000 | The Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska More than 1,000 miles away in Unalaska, The Qawalangin Tribe was awarded a $325,000 grant. Kanesia McGlashan-Price, wellness project coordinator of the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska, says the Tribe was awarded a Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country Grant, which focuses on diabetes, obesity, and heart health. The Tribe’s plan is to tackle these issues through community-based and culturally informed strategies to reduce these health conditions. McGlashan-Price says data from the Alaska Native Epidemiology Center shows that the percentage of Alaska Native adults from the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands identified as obese between 2012 and 2016 was 54.4 percent. Nearly one-fourth of the Unalaska Native population is either pre-diabetic or diabetic, and more than a quarter of patients who visited the Oonalaska Wellness Center in Unalaska last year had a diagnosis or a problem related to hypertension. “We are focusing on addressing Unangan chronic health diseases in Unalaska over a [five] year period,” McGlashan-Price says.
~$1 Million | Fairbanks Native Association The Fairbanks Native Association (FNA) was awarded a two-part $299,593 and $794,867 grant. The first will serve youth ages nine through twenty who are at risk for alcohol abuse or those who are currently engaging in problematic drinking.
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Fairbanks Native Association
In addition, the grant will fund a five-year project—facilitated by the Youth and Young Adult Services within FNA’s Behavioral Health Department—and will serve Alaska Native and American Indians in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. “ The Wellness Project will ser ve 755 young children and 2,307 family and staf f members,” Diana Campbell, director of communication at FNA , repor ts. The second grant will provide services to children ranging in age from newborn to eight years old— as well as their families—to promote wellness by addressing social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and behavioral development. The funding is for a five-year project, for which FNA is partnering with the Alaska Center for Children and Adults and ThrivAlaska. The project will service all Alaskans in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. In addition, FNA will hire a project director, a family behavioral therapist, and provide a screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment professional. “We have a big need for these types of services for our families in Fairbanks,” Steve Ginnis, executive director of FNA says. “FNA is fortunate to have a behavioral services department that is experienced enough to know how to apply for and implement grants to really help people, especially our atrisk youth.” www.akbizmag.com
Strengthen Alaska and Win For Life!
HEALTHCARE SPECIAL SECTION
The Ralph Perdue Center, where FNA Behavioral Health Services has residential treatment, will receive two grants to serve youth at risk for alcohol abuse.
Each year, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation demonstrates their goal of strengthening Alaska through their values by generously supporting ASAA as a Platinum Level Sponsor. The lives of thousands of student-athletes and activity participants have been enriched and energized thanks to ASRC’s vital support. Additionally, each year Elders are awarded free entry to all ASAA events due to ASRC’s leadership and financial support. Sportsmanship. Teamwork. Commitment. Loyalty. Respect. These are just a few of life lessons and values that help our youth grow, succeed, and
Win for Life!
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December 2019 | 51 11/1/18 6:51 AM
OIL & GAS
Industrial hygienist Greg Lomax on site. Beacon Occupational Health and Safety Services
Industrial Hygiene Staying safe in the oil field By Isaac Stone Simonelli
S
igned into law by Richard Nixon in 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) was designed to ensure employees work in an environment free from toxic chemicals, temperature stress, mechanical dangers, excessive noise levels, and other hazards. But in Alaska’s oil and gas industry, OSHA
52 | December 2019
safety standards are considered a low bar, with many companies opting to adhere to much stricter safety guidelines of their own making.
OSHA “The oil and gas industry focuses on maintaining health exposures below
more stringent, updated health-based guidelines, such as the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Values,” explains Greg Lomax, a certified industrial hygienist with Beacon Occupational Health and Safety Services on the North Slope.
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“Many OSHA standards are outdated and less stringent; therefore in striving to meet American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists guidelines, the oil and gas industry often finds itself in a good position meeting or exceeding the maximum allowable permissible exposure limits promulgated by OSHA.” The importance of industrial hygiene goes beyond the need to protect employees. When a company fails to comply with safety standards and there is a resulting injury, it can lead to expensive workers’ compensation lawsuits and damage a company’s reputation. In OSHA’s Office of Training and Education material, the agency describes industrial hygiene as the “science and art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of those environmental factors or stresses arising in or from the workplace, which may cause sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant discomfort among workers or among the citizens of the community.” OSHA’s training material points out that the relationship between workers’ health and their environment was understood long before the agency began implementing regulations in the United States. As early as the fourth century BC, the Greek physician Hippocrates of Kos documented issues with lead toxicity in the mining industry. In the same vein, the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder recognized health risks for those working with zinc and sulfur in the first century AD. Pliny created a face mask from animal bladders to protect workers from the fumes. In the oil and gas industry more rigorous (and modern) systems are put in place to keep employees and equipment safe and clean. These include robust pre-job risk planning and analysis so that contaminants are identified and actions taken to eliminate or mitigate exposure prior to task execution, explains Lomax. They also include implementing preventive maintenance and applying diagnostic strategies on equipment, as well as enrolling employees in medical surveillance to assess them for early signs of exposure or adverse health effects and implementing steps to reduce or eliminate further exposure. “Larger firms typically have management plans which are developed www.akbizmag.com
IS NOW THE ALASKA SAFETY ALLIANCE. DEDICATED TO SAFE, TRAINED AND READY ALASKA WORKERS.
INDUSTRY-DRIVEN. ALASKA STRONG. alaskasafetyalliance.org
Alaska Business
December 2019 | 53
Industrial hygienist Greg Lomax tests for naturally occurring radioactive material as part of his work in Alaska. Beacon Occupational Health and Safety Services
and maintained by their in-house certified safety professional. Smaller companies often struggle with compliance because of the lack of resources, knowledge, and written programs,” says Martin Schwan, project manager and an industrial hygienist with EHS-Alaska. “Personnel changes can have a tremendous impact on the safety culture in any company because some individuals may have had more training which emphasized strict adherence to certain policies. Management often directs the safety culture because of past failures, which cost their bottom line.” On the North Slope, EHS-Alaska’s industrial hygienists have completed worker exposure studies about welding fumes, including hexavalent chromium; exhaust adequacy studies; indoor air quality assessments; and fungal ecology assessments, Schwan says. “Some relatively unique industrial hygiene issues inherent within oil and gas include benzene and hydrogen sulfide inhalation exposure,” Lomax says. Other issues include oxygendeficient atmospheres that are either planned (due to intentional purging such as nitrogen) or unplanned (due to unintentional displacement of oxygen levels from other gasses), as well as naturally occurring radioactive material associated with contaminated downhole tubing, Lomax says. In Alaska, any drilling waste that contains naturally-occurring radiological material must either be shipped out of state for proper disposal or be re-injected into an EPA permitted 54 | December 2019
Class 1 injection well, according to the Alaska Division of Environmental Health. Not all of the issues mitigated by industrial hygienists in oil and gas are endemic to the industry. Some of the prominent issues faced include hazardous noise levels, awkward or static body positioning, whole-body vibrations, airborne crystalline silica exposures from drilling fluid products, airborne asbestos exposure, welding fumes, and gasses related to inhalation exposures, as well as hydrocarbon exposures, including benzene and oil mists.
Planning Solutions “The risks to health or safety hazards on the North Slope are typically subjected to a systematic quantitative process in which the probability, frequency, and severity of each hazard is determined and quantified so that priorities can be established and resources allocated to address the highest health and safety hazards of utmost concern first,” Lomax says. “In general, the mitigation approach involves applying controls in the following order from most effective to least effective.” The most effective approach for dealing with a health hazard is eliminating it completely. In some circumstances, this can be as simple as postponing work until weather conditions improve, Lomax says. When it is not possible to eliminate a hazard, companies will often look to a substitute.
“Can the health hazard be substituted with something less toxic? For example, can a less toxic and more environmentally friendly cleaning compound be alternatively used instead of a harsher cleaning compound?” Lomax says. The next option, according to Lomax, is to consider engineering a solution. This can be done by creating a situation that removes the human-hazard interface, such as building a sound-proof enclosure to protect employees from hazardous noise work environments. Another method of dealing with workplace hazards is through administrative efforts. In these cases, additional training, signage, and written procedures are used. The last resort is to rely on personal protective equipment, such as earplugs, respirators, and anti-vibration gloves, Lomax says.
Arctic Complications In addition to the array of workplace hazards that must be mitigated in the oil and gas industry, those operating on the North Slope face additional environmental hurdles due to the Arctic climate. “The weather climate on the North Slope impacts industrial hygiene exposures in a variety of ways,” Lomax says. “For much of the time, winds are substantial and can be very beneficial in providing natural dilution ventilation capable of reducing airborne inhalation exposures for a variety of vapors,
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“Some relatively unique industrial hygiene issues inherent within oil and gas include benzene and hydrogen sulfide inhalation exposure.”
Building Alaska From The Ground Up
Greg Lomax, Industrial Hygienist Beacon Occupational Health and Safety Services
gasses, and aerosols. However, extreme cold Arctic temperatures have the potential to introduce cold stress health-related issues for workers and even death due to the remote North Slope work environment.” Even the benefits that come with natural dilution ventilation are sometimes lost due to the need to protect workers from the extreme cold of the Arctic. “Welding hooches must be built in order to provide a hospitable environment for welding or other work,” Lomax says. “The downside is that these enclosures have the potential to reduce the benefits of natural ventilation for the same work performed in less extreme environments.” Other climatic issues faced on the North Slope affect the modular design of employee camps, Schwan says, noting that such issues would be handled by a certified safety professional. “Industrial hygienists are quite different than certified safety professionals—industrial hygienists deal with worker exposures and certified safety professionals deal with workers’ environment. Although there is some obvious overlap, as an industrial hygienist who has some experience on the slope, I focus on worker exposures to chemicals, welding fumes, and mold.” However, Schwan points out that his experience with modular designs suggests “that there are concerns about poor [or perceived poor] indoor www.akbizmag.com
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December 2019 | 55
“The oil and gas industry focuses on maintaining health exposures below more stringent, updated health-based guidelines, such as the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Values.” Greg Lomax, Industrial Hygienist, Beacon Occupational Health and Safety Services
air quality.” “Modular design of man camps provides many avenues for outdoor temperatures to be conveyed into the indoor environment which can promote poor indoor air,” Schwan says.
Prioritizing Safety Hilcorp Alaska stepped into a dominant role on the North Slope following its $5.6 billion purchase of BP interests in Prudhoe Bay and TAPS this year. BP employs about 1,600 workers in Alaska. Plans for the BP workforce “will develop as we determine how we will
56 | December 2019
integrate the acquisition into Hilcorp’s existing operations,” Justin Furnace, a vice president for Hilcorp Energy, told The Associated Press. In October, Furnace made it clear that employee safety would remain a top priority for Hilcorp, the largest privately held independent oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States. “The safety of employees is the most important priority for Hilcorp. That responsibility rests on the company and each and every employee. As a result of this company-wide focus, Hilcorp’s OSHA recordable incident
rate is significantly under that of other operators in the state. In order to achieve a safe work environment despite the many challenges faced operating in Alaska, Hilcorp continually trains our workforce using well-established industry and OSHA protocols and monitors operations around the clock,” Furnace said. “Much of our workforce complete complex projects in conditions that involve extreme cold weather, noise, heavy machinery, travel, or the handling of chemicals. Every task requires careful consideration and training to ensure personal safety. Whether employees
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are veterans of oil fields, straight out of school, or transitioning from another industry, educating and training our workforce is a continuous and critical component. Many types of surveys and tests are conducted regularly. The information gathered helps to continue to get better and safer. If we can’t do a project safely and responsibly, we will not undertake that project.”
Industrial Hygiene Audits Part of ensuring employee safety and assessing a company’s compliance with established standards is done through an industrial hygiene audit. The frequency of industrial hygiene audits depends on internal standards and needs established by a company, though they are often conducted annually. “Industrial hygiene audits encompass the evaluation of chemical and physical exposures, the interaction of the worker with the facility/machinery/equipment, and the effects of the workplace on the external environment,” Lomax says. Included in an audit is an employee exposure assessment. According to
OSHA, such assessments are designed to “characterize the nature and magnitude of employee exposures to respiratory hazards before selecting respiratory protection equipment.” “If I am involved in a worker exposure study, I will read the appropriate OSHA standard and develop the steps necessary to comply with the standard, develop a scope with the client, gather background information on the process to include any written programs developed by the company, verify the number of workers to be included in the study, review past studies, and I will sometimes contact AKOSH [Alaska Occupational Safety and Health] directly to discuss with them the project and how best to comply,” Schwan says. Employee exposure assessments can also be performed using the AIHA Exposure Assessment Strategy, Lomax says. The five-step AIHA exposure assessment strategy represents a movement away from the traditional compliance assessment strategy toward a comprehensive exposure
strategy that determines whether exposures are obviously acceptable, obviously unacceptable, or if there is insufficient information to make such a determination, Lomax says. “The benefit is that information about the full exposure distribution is developed instead of just the upper extreme exposures and that exposure monitoring efforts can be focused where it is most needed [for example, the uncertain exposures]. This strategy promises to provide quality information with a minimum number of samples,” Lomax says. By identifying exposure risks in the workplace, industrial hygienists can work alongside certified safety professionals to eliminate and mitigate hazards that are inherent in the oil and gas industry. “My goal as an industrial hygienist is to keep workers, their families, and the community healthy and safe,” Lomax says. “I am proud to work within the oil and gas industry, which shares similar values and puts its money where its mouth is toward supporting the achievement of those goals.”
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Alaska Business
www.altrogco.com December 2019 | 57
Lynden
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N
Bison, Kayaks, and Natural Gas Platforms Unusual cargo taken in stride by Alaska’s transportation companies By Vanessa Orr
58 | December 2019
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Lynden
T
ransportation companies in Alaska are used to facing all sorts of challenges, from tricky weather and remote locations to short delivery windows—but no matter the obstacle or the cargo, they take great pride in getting things where they need to go. Case in point: a few years ago, Matson found itself moving a more traditional form of transportation. An Alutiiq kayak, estimated to be built in or before 1869, was discovered in storage at Harvard’s Peabody Museum. The museum agreed to loan the forty-pound, split-prow kayak (created with humpback whale sinew, hair, wool yarn, wood, plant fiber cordage, and spruce root) to the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak for a period of ten years—the only problem was getting it there. It took several years for the kayak, which needed to first be restored, to make the 5,000-mile trip. The Matson Foundation provided a $5,000 grant toward the vessel’s preservation and then offered an in-kind donation of free
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shipping. Transported across the United States on a truck in an 18-foot custom crate, it then traveled on a Matson ship from Tacoma to Kodiak before arriving at the Alutiiq Museum. And this is not the first “antique” that has made its way through Alaska. Lynden Air Cargo once transported a ninety-two-year-old Tin Lizzie—a vintage Model T that was discovered nestled in the back of a warehouse in Nome. Its owners wanted it transported to Anchorage, which required the services of a Lynden Air Cargo Hercules aircraft. Crowley’s Marine Solutions Team faced a more modernday challenge when it was hired as the prime contractor to ship and install a natural gas production platform and underwater pipeline for Furie Operating Alaska. Known as the Kitchen Lights project, the two-year undertaking— which employed more than 500 workers and up to twenty support vessels during the process—faced a plethora
Alaska Business
December 2019 | 59
Taco Bell decided to surprise the 6,200 residents of Bethel by flying a Taco Bell truck to the area filled with 30,000 pounds of food and cooking gear. Forty Taco Bell employees also made the journey to dish up tacos to the elated village. Lynden
of engineering and transportation challenges. “This was not your everyday type of project,” says Crowley Vice President Johan Sperling. “It was a large project with many components, and it required a company that was familiar with Cook Inlet, where the tide rises so much that it creates treacherous currents. For anyone not familiar with the area, it would have been almost impossible.” Tides in Cook Inlet can rise and fall by up to 35 feet every six hours, and changing currents make it even more hazardous to those working in the area. “I think the most surprising part to me was how long it took to get people who had never been in Alaska to understand how different Cook Inlet is from other places around the world,” says Sperling of the project that employed a number of foreign subcontractors. “When they think of America, they think of New York skyscrapers and heavily populated urban environments. It took a long time to get them comfortable in this space.” One of the first challenges facing those working on the project was outfitting Crowley’s Ninilchik, a regular barge, to make it a pipe-laying barge that could handle the assembly of nearly 16 miles of 10-inch, concrete-coated pipe. Then the company had to figure out a way to transport the monopod and chassis—part of the production 60 | December 2019
platform—on a large offshore barge because the monopod had to remain vertical for the entire route. “We had to move it from Texas through the Gulf of Mexico, through the Panama Canal, and up to Seattle where it stayed for months,” says Sperling. The monopod was then moved across the Gulf of Alaska to Cook Inlet. “The main issue was making sure that the monopod didn’t topple over and destroy the barge because it didn’t have the biggest base; it was actually pretty narrow, in comparison to size and weight,” Sperling explains. Once in Cook Inlet, special mooring arrangements had to be designed, and with slack tide lasting for only thirty minutes at a time, it was especially difficult to lift the monopod to position it over the central pole—a process handled with great intricacy by two 1,000-ton cranes. “Anything involving the running of the tide and the current had to be specially considered, keeping in mind moving anchors and divers and vessels,” Sperling says. All told, the transport and installation of the Kitchen Lights project required the coordination of two 8,000 HP anchor handling tugs, four offshore supply vessels, two dive support vessels, a crew boat, several offshore and harbor towing vessels, a number of barges,
security vessels, and a landing craft. According to Rick Bendix, marketing and business development manager for Alaska Airlines Cargo, transportation professionals never know quite what they’ll be moving when working for a company that flies to and from the Last Frontier. “We transferred several shelter animals that were abandoned during the California wildfires so that they could be adopted in other states, including Alaska,” he says, adding that the airline has also transported bees, eagles, reindeer, bears, seals, mini horses, baby moose, and a tarantula. “We also moved three goats, a pig, and seven chickens in separate kennels to Seattle for a family relocating to New York.” When a cruise ship didn’t get its delivery of milk in Seattle in time for departure, Alaska Airlines ran a charter freighter flight—full of 35,000 pounds of the liquid—up to Juneau to meet the cruise ship when it got into port. The carrier also transports lab samples from Alaska to specialized testing facilities in other parts of the country and brings lifesaving medicines and treatments into Alaska daily. On a number of occasions, Alaska Airlines has moved band and stage equipment for prominent musical groups performing in Juneau and Anchorage. “These are always
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challenging jobs; not only due to the volume of the shipments but because of the critical nature of needing everything to arrive on time,” Bendix says. “If there is no equipment, there is no show.” Having been in business for more than a century, it’s no wonder that Lynden and its subsidiaries have transported a wealth of unusual items, including moving 100 wood bison from Girdwood to remote Shageluk to reintroduce the species to an area where they once roamed. It took Lynden Air Cargo, Alaska West Express, and Alaska Marine Lines (AML) working together to move the animals, each of which weighs between 1,200 and 2,000 pounds. The bison were transported in retrofitted Conex boxes (donated by AML and Container Specialties of Alaska) that held seven animals each. They were trucked from Portage to Anchorage and then loaded into Lynden Air Cargo’s Hercules aircraft for the one-hour flight. “We have always been a niche operator, but this made our Top 10 list of unusual moves,” says Jim Davis, Lynden Air Cargo vice president of commercial operations. The animals arrived healthy and have since begun to breed, making this one of the state’s most impressive conservation—and transportation—efforts. Lynden has also transported unusual objects to well-known and not so wellknown destinations. In 2015 Lynden transported a 74foot Christmas tree from the Chugach National Forest to Washington, DC, making stops in ten communities along the way. The two-week, 4,000-mile expedition took place by land and sea in order to get the tree to the nation’s capital in time for the official tree lighting in December. Despite a journey that included
62 | December 2019
100 mile-per-hour winds and 50-foot waves between the Port of Anchorage and Tacoma, Washington, the tree arrived safely in the Lower 48 where it was loaded into a specially decaled Kenworth T680 truck, driven by Lynden driver John Schank, who at the time had logged more than 5 million miles on the road, accident-free, in almost four decades of driving. And this is not the first time that Lynden made a large crowd happy. At one time it was rumored that Taco Bell was moving into Bethel, but the town was dismayed when it was revealed the story was a hoax. Making full use of Lynden’s logistics expertise, Taco Bell decided to surprise the 6,200 village residents with tacos. Sworn to secrecy, Lynden moved 950 pounds of seasoned beef, 500 pounds of sour cream, 300 pounds of tomatoes, 300 pounds of lettuce, 150 pounds of cheddar cheese, and 10,000 taco shells, along with refrigerators, heating units, and cooking utensils, via a Lynden Air Cargo Hercules. The more than 30,000 pounds of food and gear— and forty Taco Bell employees—were flown from Anchorage to Bethel (only accessible by air or sea) and, much to the delight of residents, Taco Bell arrived in Bethel. AML and LTI Inc., both members of the Lynden family of companies, have also had their share of unusual cargo. The companies provided free transportation for a ceremonial totem pole—created to replace an ancestral totem pole originally located in Glacier Bay—from Bellingham, Washington, to Hoonah. In order to transport the 11-foot, 2,000-pound pole, it first had to be secured on a trailer for the ride to Washington where it was moved by forklift into a container for the journey to Seattle. It was then transferred onto a barge to Southeast and later transferred from barge to barge to make the final leg to Hoonah. AML also helped deliver a life-size Lynden Air Cargo once transported bronze statue of a ninety-two-year-old Tin Lizzie, a late Senator vintage Model T that was discovered the in the back of a warehouse in Nome, Ted Stevens to Anchorage in a LAC Hercules aircraft. from Cordova to and then Lynden Seattle
on to Oregon before bringing it back to Anchorage for its unveiling at the eponymous Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. The clay form was designed by Cordova-based artist Joan BugbeeJackson and had to be shipped to Oregon for bronzing before it could make the trip back to Alaska. In addition to moving the statue itself, Lynden worked with US Customs and Border Protection to secure the shipment of materials from China that were used in the background of the statue. Coordinating and executing international shipments is nothing new for the company; Lynden Air Cargo joined the ranks of operators that have traveled to all seven continents when it transported supplies in support of an Italian research team on expedition in the Antarctic. Supplies were shipped from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Mario Zucchelli Station in Italy and then to Phoenix Field at McMurdo Station in Terra Deca, Antarctica. While the supplies were unusual enough—including two Squirrel helicopters on each trip—so was the distance. Terra Deca Bay is about 2,000 miles and seven hours from Christchurch, and Phoenix Field is another 300 miles further south, which required an augmented crew, as well as a loadmaster and mechanic. Far smaller and yet just as critical, Lynden International helped transport human blood samples from a clinical trial in West Africa to the United States and Europe for testing. To keep samples frozen and stable requires using Liquid Nitrogen Dry (LN2) shipping containers that maintain a temperature of -150˚C for up to ten days. “Each LN2 shipper can accommodate up to 405 2-milliliter vials and is equipped with a GPS-temperature sensor. We can monitor the temperature and see exactly where the unit is anywhere in the world,” says Phil Maxson, Lynden International’s director of international operations, adding that the company handles more than 400 shipments annually in and out of Africa for various government and non-governmental organizations. No matter the cargo, Alaska’s transportation companies are up to the challenge, connecting people and places with the things they need—one baby moose at a time.
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T
TOURISM
The Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining Conference met in Anchorage August 4-8, 2019. The conference, which expected approximately 1,000 people, topped out at 3,000 attendees. Kathleen Bonnar | Visit Anchorage
2020 Conventions, Conferences, and Regional Meetings Business travelers boost Alaska’s economy By Vanessa Orr 64 | December 2019
he visitor industry in Alaska encompasses more than seasonal travelers viewing wildlife, exploring the wilderness, or taking in local culture. There are a large number of visitors who come to work, attending meetings and conferences and boosting the economy even though they may not participate in traditional tourism activities. While 2019 was a good year for conventions and meetings in the Last Frontier, 2020 looks to be strong as well. And this is especially important, considering that these functions help contribute to the state’s bottom line outside of the summer season. “Meeting and convention attendees are that part of the visitor industry that supports the state in seasons that are not bolstered as much by tourism,” explains Helen Renfrew, director of meetings and conventions for Explore Fairbanks. “Statewide and nationally, meetings tend to peak in the spring and fall, and this additional occupancy helps to support the industry as a whole as an economic driver. “Not only do hotels, meeting spaces, and restaurants benefit, but so do gas stations, grocery stores, museums, gift shops, coffee shops—you name it. Direct tourism dollars have a wide reach in the community,” she adds. “And when visitors spend money, they have an indirect impact as well—the businesses that serve them buy food from wholesalers or send rugs out for cleaning, and their employees spend money on babysitters.” The McDowell Group's Economic Impact Report December 2018 found that conferences in Juneau, for example, had the following economic impact: Conference attendees spent an average of $1,270 per event and stayed an average of four nights; conference organizations spent an average of $450 for each attendee, per event. “Conferences and meetings provide the highest return, more than independent travelers and cruise guests,” says Vicki Logan, convention sales manager at Travel Juneau. “And the money they spend not only benefits Juneau but all of Southeast. When you bring in revenue from outside of Juneau or outside of the state, it has a circle effect. A lot of people don’t realize the impact that it has on the whole community.”
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Who’s Coming in 2020? Convention and meeting numbers look good for 2020, with a range of organizations, both in-state and out-ofstate, flocking to Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks. According to Julie Dodds, vice president of convention sales for Visit Anchorage, convention sales for the last four to five years have been very strong, with 2019 culminating in one of the strongest years ever. “We had four really large conventions that all outperformed what was expected,” she says. “The National Veterans Golden Age Games estimated 1,200 people and had 2,000. The Association for Computing Machinery’s Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Conference was expecting 1,000 people and ended up with more than 3,000. The American Ornithological Society attracted 1,038 attendees, though regular attendance is usually about 500 people.” She adds that the Agriculture, Food & Human Values Society also had almost 300 more attendees than expected. While Dodds says that it’s hard to increase numbers year after year, in 2020 Anchorage is expecting about the same amount of business visitors. “We’ve got a couple of really good international groups coming, including Rotary International Zones 28 & 32, which is expected to bring about 400 people to its symposium, Life on Land, and the International Pacific Halibut Commission will bring approximately 275 people to town.” Anchorage will also host the Botanical Society of America, which is expected to draw 1,200 people. While state meetings have trailed off over the past couple of years, Visit Anchorage has seen an increase in American Indian/Alaska Native organization-based conferences, with three events scheduled for 2020. The National Congress of American Indians will bring 1,400 people to town, and the National Indian Health Board will host 700. The Alaska Federation of Natives Conference, the largest annual representative gathering of Native peoples in the country, is expected to host upward of 3,500 people. When this many people come to town, it benefits everyone, from select service hotels in midtown to florists www.akbizmag.com
making banquet centerpieces. And the money doesn’t just stay in Alaska’s largest city. “When people come to Alaska, they tend to come in earlier and stay longer,” says Dodds, “If they only come for one or two days, they’ll probably just stay in Anchorage and take day trips; but if they’re using a good chunk of vacation time, they may go up to Denali or travel to Homer. A convention in Anchorage benefits the whole state because while visitors may be coming for work, they’re staying for personal time.” Over the past five years, Dodds says that the Estimated Direct Attendee Spending (EDAS) has been between $95 million and $100 million, and the outlook for 2020 and 2021 is similar. “Estimated Direct Attendee Spending for the National Congress of American Indians is estimated at $2.2 million, and the Alaska Federation of Natives is $3.6 million,” says Dodds. “The National Indian Health Board will bring in approximately $1.2 million, and the Botanical Society of America’s EDAS is $1.9 million.” The Rotary International Symposium in December will pump another $528,000 into the economy, and the International Pacific Halibut Commission’s conference in February is estimated to bring in $320,000. Juneau is also looking at a good year, especially when it comes to in-state conferences. Groups traveling to the capital city this year include competitors in the ASAA Debate Drama Forensics Alaska State Tournament, the Alaska Republican Party, and guests of Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Celebration. “The ASAA state tournament will be held for the first time ever in Juneau, with high school kids coming from all over the state for the competition,” says Logan of the February event, which is expected to have an estimated economic impact (EEI) of $412,000. “This is a great opportunity for Thunder Mountain High School, which is the host.” The Alaska Republican Party will hold its convention in early April in Centennial Hall and is expected to attract 300 attendees, with an EEI of $275,000. “The number of participants may be even higher since it’s a presidential election year,” says Logan. Celebration, which is held every Alaska Business
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December 2019 | 65
A session at the 2019 Alaska Travel Industry Association Annual Convention and Trade Show at Centennial Hall in Juneau. Travel Juneau
other year, is always well-attended. Approximately 600 to 700 people are expected at the June event that celebrates Native culture, with an estimated economic impact of $9.1 million. The Pacific Northwest Library Association Conference will also be convening in Juneau in August, for an EEI of $343,500. In addition to a number
66 | December 2019
of smaller state meetings, the Pioneers of Alaska Grand Igloo Convention, which happens every other year, will be in held in Juneau in September. As far as trends go, Logan says that because of the travel freeze at the state level for the past several years, some agencies have begun meeting in different ways, including via Skype
and other technology. “Some larger groups are not meeting yearly anymore, and some are still having meetings but renting smaller spaces as opposed to the convention center since fewer people are able to come,” she says. “We’re filling in those vacancies with regional meetings and association meetings, though it takes a little more energy on our part to find groups looking for meeting locations,” she adds. “It takes a few more ‘no’s to get to a ‘yes.’” While historically about 60 percent of meetings in Fairbanks are statewide, some regional and international organizations will be making their way to the Golden Heart City in 2020. “In February, the State High School Division II Hockey Championships will be in Fairbanks, and we’re pretty excited because we haven’t had hockey championships in the city for sixteen years,” says Renfrew, who adds that Explore Fairbanks is purposefully targeting school event associations. The tournament is expected to have an EDAS of $500,000. In March, the University of Alaska Fairbanks will be hosting the One Health, One Future Conference that is expected to attract 500 attendees with an EDAS of $1 million. “The conference focuses on the interconnectedness of the circumpolar north and will host a combination of biologists, human social service professionals, and medical and veterinary service professionals,” says Renfrew. “The concept is that humans, animals, and the environment all have to do well to support the others. If the environment is not doing well, it can’t support humans or animals; if the animals aren’t doing well, they can’t support humans or the environment.” The Alaska Association of American Fisheries will bring about 200 people to Fairbanks in March with an EDAS of $192,000, followed by the Alaska Association of Fire and Arson Investigators in April, which is expected to bring about 40 people to town. In May, about 350 people are expected in Fairbanks for the Alaska Democratic Party State Convention, with an EDAS of $250,000. “In June we’ll be hosting the 44th Annual National Indian Timber Symposium, which is an event that
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we’ve not hosted before,” says Renfrew, adding that the conference came through a connection with the Tanana Chiefs Conference. Approximately 300 people are expected to attend with an EDAS of $360,000. Fairbanks’ convention staff has bids in for a couple of other fall meetings, including the International Boreal Forest Research Association and the International Circumpolar Remote Sensing Symposium. Both conventions could bring another 100 to 200 people to town. “The calendar will grow as we get closer to 2020; as a destination marketing organization, we help with bids and research, but some meeting arrangements are made by local organizing committees, and we don’t get involved until later when they are looking for volunteer help, signage, or promotion materials,” says Renfrew. “There’s still more to come; we’ll be selling from next week until however long out they want to plan.” While Renfrew says that 2020 will be a healthy conference year, it probably won’t match 2019. “We had a slamming
The Alaska Travel Industry Association conference opening reception at the Alaska State Museum in Juneau. Travel Juneau
busy year,” she says of a conference schedule that saw both the First Alaskans Institute Elders and Youth Conference and the Alaska Federation of Natives’ annual convention happening in the same October week. “We were also on some organizations’ rotational schedules, which adds to our visitor total.” While convention planners are still filling up 2020, they are also working on
getting meetings on the books for 2021 and 2022. “We have a lot of bids out at this point,” says Dodds. “Conventions are incredibly important to Anchorage. While other parts of the economy, like mining, oil, and fishing, may be in flux, we’re a bright, shiny penny. There’s still strong interest in Alaska nationally and internationally, which helps us remain a positive economic driver for the state.”
Be inspired by the light of the Aurora Borealis. Renew your energy under the Midnight Sun. Experience the warmth of Fairbanks—Alaska’s Golden Heart—and the gateway to Denali, Interior and Arctic Alaska. Call 1-877-551-1728 x3765 for your free Meeting Planner Guide. Explore your Alaskan meeting opportunities at meetfairbanks.com.
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December 2019 | 67
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t is the sneaking suspicion of the Alaska Business editorial team that many of our readers are aware of where they can purchase a cup of coffee. And even if you are one of those few Alaskans who don’t already have a favored coffee stop, one of the bounties of the Last Frontier is an abundance of convenient drive-through coffee huts located (seemingly) every few blocks in Alaska’s urban areas. So the following list is really a celebration of Alaska’s unique coffee culture that we have built together, one achingly-frigid-morning-when-youdon’t-want-to-get-out-of-your-car-for-anything at a time.
Alaska Coffee Roasting Co. is known for “celebrating coffee, the wine of the tropics.” In addition to its two Fairbanks locations, Alaska Roasting Coffee Co. also has a location in Miami.
alaskacoffeeroasting.com Anchorage-based Aftershock Espresso has sit-in and drive through options and a new ownership team as of March.
Black Cup pushes inDecation in coffee and espresso at its midtown café, which it bills as “cozy, friendly, and a perfect place to meet.”
blackcupak.com Dark Horse Coffee is located in downtown Anchorage and focuses on a warm, comfortable atmosphere.
darkhorsecoffee.com
facebook.com/aftershockespresso/
COFFEE!
Heritage Coffee Roasting Co. has been operating for more than twenty-five years, serving Juneau residents and visitors from seven locations, including two drive-through coffee huts.
heritagecoffee.com Jitters serves locally-roasted coffee at its Eagle River location, which opened in 1994 and features a convenient drive through.
jitterseagleriver.com Local-roaster Kaladi Brothers Coffee has several standalone locations in Anchorage, Soldotna, Wasilla—and one on Pike Street in Seattle—as well as kiosks in business locations such as Title Wave, Rustic Goat, and New Sagaya. And a Kaladi Brothers location is coming soon to the newly refreshed Midtown Mall.
kaladi.com
McCafferty’s downtown Fairbanks location roasts its coffee in house and features live music by Sand Castle on the weekends.
facebook.com/ McCaffertysCoffeeHouse/ Sleepy Dog Coffee is an espresso café and coffee roaster in Eagle River that also sells its beans wholesale.
facebook.com/sleepydogcoffee/ SteamDot has three locations in Anchorage; its flagship café is known as “The Lab” and features a “pour over” bar. SteamDot roasts beans daily to provide the freshest coffee possible.
steamdot.com In Wasilla, Keely’s Coffee House has a drive through and a dining space and just recently came under new ownership.
facebook.com/keelyscoffeehouse/
CONVENIENT CAFFEINE! Below we are pleased to present coffee huts and locations from around the state selected solely for their awesome names. A Whole Latte Love | Anchorage Aftershock Espresso | Anchorage Arctic Grounds Coffee Company | Anchorage Aroma Borealis | Willow Beanhive Espresso | Palmer Boom! Coffee | Anchorage Brew D’ Licious | Anchorage Brew Haha | Palmer Common Grounds Espresso | Anchorage Downtown Grind | Anchorage Espresso MD | Wasilla Espresso Yourself | Fairbanks
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Fitspresso | Anchorage Flying Squirrel Espresso| Juneau Ground Theory | Anchorage Hyper Bean Espresso | Anchorage Iditacup | Wasilla Java Junkie | Fairbanks Java the Hut | Anchorage Mocha Moose Express | Fairbanks Mojo to Go | Fairbanks Perkup Espresso | Anchorage Rugged Brews | Anchorage Sugar Shack Espresso | Anchorage The Awakening Espresso | Wasilla
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ere’s the thing: there may be those of us who plan our holiday shopping far ahead of time, stashing exactly the right gifts away months in advance, never worrying about if something is in stock or if the gift is exactly right. If you aren’t one of those twenty people, below we’ve compiled a list of holiday shopping opportunities, most of which are platforms for local artists and craftspeople to sell unique items made with love and care. So don’t say to yourself it’s lastminute shopping—instead contemplate how if you didn’t wait until mid- to late-December, you might not have been able to find exactly the right thing made locally. Really, this was your plan all along.
Fairbanks
December 7 CIRI Annual Holiday Craft Bazaar This annual bazaar at the Fireweed Business Center features more than sixty Alaska and Indian Native artists selling a range of items including handwoven baskets, mukluks, kuspuks, ivory carvings, beadwork, and jewelry. There’s also a silent auction to benefit Cook Inlet Tribal Council’s Gift Basket program, which provides gift cards to low-income families to purchase holiday presents for their children and hosts a holiday celebration.
December 5-6 Doyon Holiday Bazaar Held at Doyon Plaza, the annual Doyon Holiday Bazaar features local arts, crafts, and other goods.
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Chamber of Commerce and boasts fireworks in the parking lot of the North Pole Plaza Mall at 5 p.m. December 7 Tanana Valley Farmer’s Market Holiday Bazaar There’s free admission to the Farmer’s Market Holiday Bazaar, which is an all Alaska Grown, Alaskan handmade marketplace at the Carlson Center.
December 21 Naughty & Ice Annual Handcrafted Market The Naughty & Ice Annual Handcrafted Market takes place at West Valley High School and is hosted by Alaska’s Angels Farm, which creates natural and organic soaps, cosmetics, farm fresh eggs, Alaska raw honey, and more.
Homer
Anchorage
December 14 Wonderfully Made Christmas Bazaar The Wonderfully Made Christmas Bazaar takes place at Cornerstone Church in Anchorage. This bazaar annually celebrates the unique nature of the local Alaskan artist community and features more than 100 vendors showcasing handmade craft items. In addition to shopping, guests can enjoy food at the concession stand, gourmet coffee, and live music. Admission and parking are free.
BAZAARS
December 6-7 Handmade Holiday Art Bazaar The Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center presents the Handmade Holiday Art Bazaar, which features only high quality, handmade work from Alaskan artists whose work relates to Alaska’s land, people, and history. Artists are required to submit an application and photos representative of their work to ensure they meet the criteria.
December 14 Lily & Mae Winter Market The Lily & Mae Winter Market is focused on fun. “We want you to feel like it’s holiday nostalgia in a cup!” The open-air market at the Carlson Center hosts more than fifty booths selling handcrafted and hand curated items such as jewelry, home décor, fashion, and other unique goods.
December 7-8 Homer Nutcracker Faire Homer locals can get out and check out the wares at the annual Nutcracker Fair, which showcases the Kenai Peninsula’s finest arts and crafts. Shoppers can enjoy live music and local food while browsing the work of more than 100 artisans at Homer High School.
December 7 Holiday Bazaar at Trax Outdoor Center Get ready for Christmas at the TRAX Holiday Bazaar: multiple vendors, art, storewide sales, hot coffee, cocoa, and Christmas cookies make holiday shopping a festive experience. December 7 The North Pole Winterfest Bazaar The North Pole Winterfest Bazaar is presented by the North Pole Community Alaska Business
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Tour showcases the trees along the first 2.5k of the Mize Loop at Kincaid Park. Local businesses sponsor trees along the route and decorate them to create a winter wonderland along one of the most well-loved trails at Kincaid. Admission to the tour, which takes place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., is free. anchoragenordicski.com/solsticetree-tour/
FAIRBANKS DEC Annual Gingerbread House Contest 7 From 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the public is invited to the Carlson Center to view entries in the Gingerbread House Contest, now in its 36th year. Winners are determined by viewer voting, and winners of each of the six divisions win a prize, with an overall grand champion selected by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Gingerbread House Committee. explorefairbanks.com
DEC A Christmas 20-29 Carol
ANCHORAGE DEC Stinky Kids: The 7-22 Musical Britt loves making everyone happy, but this girl who never gets in trouble is in a sticky situation. She woke up with a massive wad of gum stuck in her hair! All of Britt’s friends are depending on her parents to take them to Captain Happy’s JumpyFun-Super-Bouncy Indoor Place, so Britt can’t let them down. Britt joins
her friends on an adventure across the neighborhood to solve her problem before her parents find out and possibly cancel the trip. cyranos.org
Alaskan-made and imported items to be sold. anchoragemarkets.com
DEC Christmas 17 Village
The Nordic Skiing Association of
Christmas Village is a perfect opportunity to buy all those lastminute gifts. Held at the Dena’ina Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Christmas Village allows both
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Perseverance Theatre presents an energetic refresh of the holiday classic A Christmas Carol, adapted by Anchorage local Arlitia Jones and director Michael Evan Haney. ptalaska.org/anchorage/
DEC Solstice Tree 15 Tour
FAIRBANKS
Anchorage presents the annual Solstice Tree Tour—this event encourages members of Alaska’s northern community of all ages and abilities to get outside and celebrate the winter solstice. The Solstice Tree
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DEC Design Alaska 7-8 Holiday Concert The Design Alaska Holiday Concert, which sells out every year, features Eduard Zilberkant conducting the
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Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, the Fairbanks Symphony Chorus, and the Fairbanks Symphony Children's Chorus and will treat guests with traditional holiday favorites at the UAF Davis Concert Hall beginning at 3 p.m. on December 7 and 4 p.m. the next day. fairbankssymphony.org
DEC The Annual 15 Procrastinators’
Bazaar The Procrastinators' Bazaar is a one-stop shop for goods and gifts for shoppers to treat themselves or whittle away at their gift list. Local vendors offer handmade clothing, jewelry, fiber goods, birch bark baskets, ceramics, body care products, forged items, paintings, pet presents, and more. explorefairbanks.com
DEC New Year’s 31 Sparktacular Brilliant fireworks are launched from UAF's West Ridge at 8 p.m. Celebrate
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the New Year and kick off UAF's centennial with cocoa and cookies at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. explorefairbanks.com
JUNEAU DEC Fireman’s Ball 7 The Alaska State Firefighters Association presents the 2nd annual Fireman’s Ball, a night of music and dance and a silent auction. Live performers for 2019 are Siblings & Outlaws and Gamble & the High Costa Living. jahc.org
PALMER
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Lights, all in Downtown Palmer. palmerchamber.org/colonychristmas
PETERSBURG DEC Julebukking 23-27 Taking place every year the week of Christmas, for Julebukking the streets of downtown Petersburg fill with bundled-up customers looking for last minute gifts for friends and family. According to Norwegian tradition, local merchants offer visitors amazing seafood delights, familiar Norwegian pastries, and warming spirits in appreciation of their business during the past year. petersburg.org
TALKEETNA
DEC Colony 13-15 Christmas Colony Christmas is an oldfashioned country Christmas celebration with craft fairs, horsedrawn and reindeer sleigh rides, pictures with Santa, fireworks, and the MTA Colony Days Parade of
DEC Wilderness 7 Woman
Competition & Bachelor Auction Sponsored by the Talkeetna Bachelor Society, single women over the age of 21 can compete in a wilderness
competition, including water hauling, sandwich delivery, fishing, sawing wood, and shooting. Later that night at the auction, single women (also over the age of 21) have the opportunity to buy a man and dance at the Bachelor Ball: these men come from all walks of life, including mechanics, firemen, loggers, pilots, miners, guides, businessmen, carpenters, geologists, teachers, and more. Bachelors range in age from 21 to 70. talkeetnabachelors.com
WASILLA DEC December 20-21 Delights Mat-Su Concert Band’s annual holiday concert includes holiday favorites and some lesser-known seasonal treasures. The audience is invited to sing along with the mostlove Christmas carols. matsuconcertband.org
AVISALASKA.COM/VIP
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Alaska Business
December 2019 | 71
BUSINESS EVENTS DECEMBER DECEMBER 3-4
Arctic Ambitions Sheraton Anchorage Hotel: This is a premier business event hosted by World Trade Center Anchorage that focuses on trade, commerce, and investment in the Arctic. wtcanc.org DECEMBER 8-11
ALASBO Annual Conference Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage: Annual conference of the Alaska Association of School Business Officials. alasbo.org JANUARY 2020 JANUARY 9-11
Alaska Wholesale Gift Show Dena’ina Center, Anchorage: This event provides an opportunity for small business owners/ producers to grow their buyer base and meet face-to-face with other business owners, buyers, and managers. There are show specials on hotels, car rentals, travel concierges, etc. alaskagiftshow.com JANUARY 21-23
Health Summit Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage: This is the annual conference of the Alaska Public Health Association; the 2019 theme is “Healthy Alaskans: For Science, For Action, For Equity.” alaskapublichealth.org JANUARY 21-23
Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit Juneau: AYFS is designed to provide training, information, and networking opportunities for commercial fishermen early in their careers. seagrant.uaf.edu 72 | December 2019
JANUARY 23
Junior Achievement of Alaska Awards Banquet Dena'ina Civic & Convention Center, Anchorage: Four new Alaskans will be inducted and recognized with this prestigious award. Attended by more than four hundred business representations, the program consists of a networking reception, dinner, and awards ceremony. juniorachievement.org JANUARY 24-26
Alaska RTI/MTSS Effective Instruction Conference Dena’ina Center, Anchorage: The mission of the Alaska Staff Development Network is to improve student achievement by providing research-based online learning and face-toface professional development programs for Alaska’s teachers and school administrators. asdn.org/2020-alaska-rti-mtsseffective-instruction-conference/
communicate research activities in the marine regions off Alaska. amss.nprb.org FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY 17-19 FEBRUARY 6-8
Anchorage AEYC Early Childhood Conference Hilton Anchorage Hotel: “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe.… Three, Four, Let’s Explore!” Join other early childhood community members to learn new strategies, hear about the latest research, try out a few practical techniques, and discover new tools and resources. anchorageaeyc.org FEBRUARY 7-9
Alaska Pharmacists Association Convention & Tradeshow Sheraton Anchorage: The Alaska Pharmacists Association is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization serving pharmacists, technicians, associates, and students. alaskapharmacy.org
JANUARY 25
Alaska TreatmentFree Beekeeping Symposium
FEBRUARY 10-14
Glenn Massay Theater, Palmer: The symposium is intended to benefit—and is open to—all apiarians/beekeepers regardless of experience or affiliation. Sharing ideas and methods can benefit all apiarians/beekeepers in their endeavors toward becoming better, more successful beekeepers. alaskabeeclub.com
Dena’ina Center, Anchorage: The Alaska Forum on the Environment is Alaska's largest statewide gathering of environmental professionals from government agencies, nonprofit and for-profit businesses, community leaders, Alaskan youth, conservationists, biologists, and community elders. akforum.com
Alaska Forum on the Environment
FEBRUARY 10-14 JANUARY 27-31
Alaska Marine Science Symposium Hotel Captain Cook, Egan Center: Scientists, researchers, and students from Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and beyond come to
wildlife researchers, managers, educators, students, and administrators. twsalaskameeting.com
TWS Alaska Chapter Annual Meeting Atwood Center Rasmuson Hall, APU, Anchorage: This is the annual meeting of the Alaska Chapter of The Wildlife Society and brings together
Alaska Statewide Special Education Conference Hilton Anchorage: The Alaska Statewide Special Education Conference is committed to providing high quality professional development relevant to the cultural, rural, and remote characteristics of Alaska. assec.org FEBRUARY 18-20
AML Winter Legislative Meeting Juneau: The Alaska Municipal League is a voluntary, nonprofit, nonpartisan, statewide organization of 162 cities, boroughs, and unified municipalities that represent more than 97 percent of Alaska’s residents. akml.org FEBRUARY 22-25
ASTE Annual Conference Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage: This is the educational technology conference of the Alaska Society for Technology in Education. This year’s keynote speakers are Kristen Mattson and Jon Landis. aste.org FEBRUARY 26-29
Annual Meeting of the Alaska Anthropological Association Westmark Hotel, Fairbanks: The annual meeting includes workshops, an evening reception for information and registration, paper presentations, an awards banquet, and keynote speakers. alaskaanthropology.org
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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National Park Service Lake Clark National Park and Preserve opened its second public use cabin: The historic Joe Thompson cabin is at the base of the newly revitalized Portage Creek Trail on the north shore of Lake Clark about thirteen miles from Port Alsworth. This is an opportunity for park visitors to step into the shoes of a mid-century cabin builder, prospector, and commercial fisherman—stay in his cabin, hike the trail towards his prospect, and explore the Lake Clark country he lived in for forty years. nps.gov/lacl/index.htm
Columbia Sussex Columbia Sussex acquired three new properties in Alaska’s largest city. With 1,341 rooms now in its inventory, the purchase makes Columbia Sussex the largest full-service, year-round hotel operator in the state. The new midtown properties include the Hilton Garden Inn located at 4555 Union Square Drive with 125 rooms, built in 2001; Hampton Inn at 4301 Credit Union Drive with 101 rooms, built in 1997; and Homewood Suites located at 101 W. 48th Ave. with 122 rooms, built in 2003. These properties join the twenty-story Marriott Anchorage Downtown and twenty-one-story Hilton Anchorage, which Columbia Sussex has operated for more than a decade. The Hilton just underwent an extensive, multi-million-dollar renovation and the Marriott is on schedule for a similar one this winter. columbiasussex.com 74 | December 2019
Baker Hughes, a GE company has changed its name. The company is now known as Baker Hughes, and as of mid-October its Class A common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BKR.” Baker Hughes’ new name and brand better reflect its current and intended principal business operations and diversified portfolio. bakerhughes.com
Excalibur Alaska Retailing 100 percent authentic and officially licensed sports merchandise from apparel and jerseys to hats and home décor, Excalibur Alaska has opened a location next to JCPenney in the 5th Avenue Mall. Excalibur Alaska is open seven days a week and the merchandise it carries features logos from NHL, NFL, MLB, NBA, and NCAA teams. excalibursportsak.com
Arctic Innovation Competition The University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Management awarded $30,000 in cash prizes to the winners of the 2019 Arctic Innovation Competition. The top prize of $10,000 in the main division was awarded to Todd Krieg for Fish Wheel Salmon Selector, which improves on the classic fish wheel by safely returning coho and chinook salmon to the river to continue spawning while allowing other, more abundant species to be harvested. In the junior division, James Price took home the first prize of $1,000 for Plug-Hug, a faceplate for electrical outlets. The device's snugly fitting shield makes accidental unplugging and weather damage less likely. In the cub division, Aila StandleeStrom won first place and $500 for Here Kitty Cat, a cat harness with a locator connected to an app. The app gives walking directions for owners to
find their cats. arcticinno.com
Premera Blue Cross Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska announced a $5.7 million investment to support access to rural healthcare in Alaska. Premera will establish a Rural Health Care Fund with $3 million to be managed initially by Rasmuson Foundation and held by The Alaska Community Foundation. The fund will be used to award a wide variety of grants addressing equity, availability, and access to quality healthcare in rural areas. The UAA College of Health will receive a $1.77 million grant to expand the university’s associate and bachelor’s nursing degree programs at four of its campuses, three of which are in rural Alaska. ANTHC will receive $700,000 as a capital grant to support the build of its Anchoragebased Education & Development Center, helping create a stateof-the-art integrated healthcare education institution. Premera is also providing $300,000 in grants to support Community Health Aide/Practitioner training programs across Alaska. premera.com
Summit Spice & Tea Summit Spice & Tea has purchased ecommerce gift box and specialty food online store Alaska Artisanal. The purchase creates a Summit Spice & Tea online store that sells Summit’s 160 teas, 230 spices, various Alaskan made specialty foods, and Alaska Artisanal’s gift boxes. The new combined online store launched in December. By purchasing Alaska Artisanal, Summit was able to quickly add an online store, as well as the inventory management and order processing and fulfillment systems that work behind the scenes enabling both retail and online sales to occur. summitspiceandtea.com
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
RIGHT MOVES Sitnasuak Richard Strutz is serving as interim CEO for Sitnasuak Native Corporation (SNC). Strutz previously served as the corporation’s CEO Strutz from April 2015 to May 2017. Previous to SNC, Strutz had a forty-three-year career at a financial institution and spent twenty of those years as the company’s chief executive in Alaska. In recognition of his business accomplishments, he was inducted to the Junior Achievement of Alaska’s Business Hall of Fame in 2017.
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company Carrie Irwin Brown joined Alyeska Pipeline Service Company as its Alaska Native Program Director. She was most recently the Irwin Brown director of the Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Irwin Brown attended the University of Hawaii and Nagoya Gakuin University in Nagoya, Japan, and holds a bachelor’s degree in management/international business from Alaska Pacific University. In 2016 she completed a master’s level Alaska Native Executive Leadership Program at Alaska Pacific University.
Anchorage Fracture & Orthopedic Clinic Anchorage Fracture & Orthopedic Clinic welcomed hand and upper extremity surgeon Dr. Patricia Fox and
foot and ankle orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ruben Fox to the practice. Patricia Fox specializes in treating all injuries and conditions of the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder. Her surgical expertise includes Patricia Fox arthroscopy, nerve repair and reconstruction, wrist and small joint fusion and replacement, fracture care and microsurgery, as well as elbow and shoulder replacement. Rabun Fox provides expertise for foot and ankle care, including flatfoot deformity, sports and overuse injuries, and fracture Rabun Fox management. He offers advanced surgical care, minimally invasive and arthroscopic techniques, has trained extensively on total ankle replacements, and provides up-to-date options for his patients with ankle arthritis.
Blueprint Alaska Blueprint Alaska named Cassi Campbell as the company’s first Account Executive. Campbell’s duties include managing social media, writing and editing content, Campbell providing event support, and media relations. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls with a bachelor’s degree in marketing communications with concentrations in broadcast journalism and psychology and is scheduled to complete her master’s degree in strategic communications this month from Purdue University.
SBA Alaska District The US Small Business Administration Alaska District Office promoted Clark Bihag to Senior Area Manager for the SBA Bihag Fairbanks Office, which serves the Interior. Prior to joining the SBA, Bihag served for eight years in the US Air Force. He left the military and then worked for McKinley Capital Management before joining the SBA. Bihag received his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage.
KeyBank Chris Yelverton has been promoted to Senior Payments Advisor with KeyBank Alaska’s Enterprise Commercial Payments Yelverton Group. In this position, Yelverton collaborates with the Alaska Commercial Banking team to deliver solutions in the enterprise payments space and help the bank focus on expanding its market presence. Yelverton graduated with a bachelor of arts in finance from the University of Alaska Anchorage and is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School.
R&M Consultants
Frutiger
Stacey Frutiger, EIT, joined R&M Consultants as an Environmental Specialist in the firm’s Environmental Group. Frutiger will be responsible for environmental
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compliance tasks, including NEPA impact analyses, regulatory permitting, environmental baseline monitoring, Phase I/II environmental site assessments, general contaminated sites work, and storm water management. Frutiger has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and a master’s in environmental engineering from University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Alaska Executive Search Charles Sales joined the Alaska Executive Search team as a Certified Staffing Consultant with more than twenty years of experience Sales in management and clinical occupational medicine.
Surgery Center of Fairbanks Keli Hite McGee has been appointed as Administrator at The Surgery Center of Fairbanks. Most recently Hite McGee served as Hite McGee chief human resources officer at the University of Alaska. Hite McGee’s background includes more than twenty years in communication, human resources, training and coaching, change management, and leadership consulting. She is a graduate of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Hughes White Jenna Krohn and Brett Watts joined the firm of Hughes White Colbo Wilcox & Tervooren as Associate Attorneys. Krohn graduated from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, Krohn
where she twice made the Dean’s list and interned at the Municipality of Anchorage. She also worked full-time in human resources while attending law school. This work experience lends itself well to helping clients navigate difficult situations in employment law matters, as well as in insurance defense and family law. After graduating in 2008 from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio, Watts practiced criminal law Watts (prosecution and defense), immigration law, family law, and general litigation. Watts left immigration law to spend more time in the courtroom, and now his practice focuses primarily on family law and litigation.
Alaska Heart & Vascular Institute Alaska Heart & Vascular Institute welcomed two new healthcare professionals. Dr. Ahmed Sami Abuzaid graduated in general medicine and surgery from Ain Shams University, Faculty of Medicine in Cairo, Egypt. He recently completed an Abuzaid advanced echocardiography and cardiac imaging fellowship at the University of California San Francisco, and before that a cardiology fellowship at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University/CCHS. Dr. Ryan McDonough completed his undergraduate schooling at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, McDonough where he graduated with a bachelor of science in 2001. Intrigued with military intelligence, he pursued that career before transitioning to medicine.
In 2007, McDonough graduated with a degree in medicine from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pennsylvania. He specializes in cardiology and interventional cardiology.
Residential Mortgage Residential Mortgage hired Chris Hamey as its new CFO. Hamey joins the company with fifteen years of experience in accounting Hamey and audit through his career in Alaska. Most recently he was the accounting manager at Chugach Alaska Corporation. Hamey holds bachelor degrees in English and accounting, both from the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Ahtna Marlena (Marty) Brewer has joined Ahtna Engineering Services as Senior Chemist. She has more than twenty years of professional Brewer experience in biomolecular research, environmental laboratory analysis, environmental consulting, and working in an environmental regulatory capacity. She earned a master’s degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Arkansas. Ahtna Environmental Business Development and Marketing Manager Lori Kropidlowski has achieved Foundation Certification Kropidlowski through the Association of Professional Management Professionals, a national association dedicated to the process of winning business. She has more than twenty-five years of sales and marketing experience.
Nail guns. Air compressors. Generators. Whatever you need, we deliver. Connect with us / 800.727.2141 / www.nac.aero /
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Alaska Business
December 2019 | 77
ALASKA TRENDS FY2019 SBA LOANS IN ALASKA During FY2019 there were 103 7(A) LOANS made in the SBA Alaska District totaling $61.7 MILLION. 52,000 loans were made nationally totaling $23.17 billion.
"During the past fiscal year in Alaska, we saw an uptick in the number of potential borrowers that accessed the SBA Lender Match program. This indicates local interest in SBA lending programs and that Alaska business owners are researching their options." Nancy Porzio, Director, SBA Alaska District
Lender Match has generated 4.4 MILLION LEADS on behalf of small business to SBA lenders. That's more 230,000 UNIQUE BORROWERS connected with financing options.
In 2019, SBA expanded online lending tools and cut processing times in HALF.
During FY2019, there were 8 504 LOANS made in the SBA Alaska District totaling nearly $3.2 MILLION. 6,099 loans were made nationally totaling $4.9 billion.
SOURCE: Small Business Administration News Release October 2019
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ANS Crude Oil Production
TOP INDUSTRIES BY NUMBER OF LOANS 11/03/2019
01/01/2014
Transportation and Warehousing 11 LOANS = $8.4 million
Accommodation and Food Services 17 LOANS
05/01/2011 09/01/2008 01/01/2006
ANS Production barrel per day 541,955 Nov. 3, 2019
05/01/2003
Healthcare and Social Assistance 10 LOANS = $3 million
= $10.7 million
09/01/2000
0
400,000
800,000
1,200,000
SOURCE: Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division
ANS West Coast Crude Oil Prices 11/01/2019
09/01/2012
Retail Trade 15 LOANS = $9.2 million
Professional, Scientific, and Tech Services 9 LOANS = $6.8 million
09/01/2008
ANS West Coast $ per barrel $64.97 Nov. 1, 2019
09/01/2004
09/01/2000 $0
$20
$40
$60
$80 $100 $120 $140 $160
SOURCE: Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division
TOP SBA LENDERS Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. 23 loans / $6.6 million
Northrim Bank 20 loans / $5.9 million
Alaska Growth Capital
Statewide Employment Figures 01/1976-9/2019 Seasonally Adjusted 09/01/2019
05/01/2004 09/01/1998
13 loans / $15 million
01/01/1993
Evergreen Business Capital
05/01/1987
10 loans / $3.5 million
Newtek Small Business Finance 8 loans / $10.6 million
Labor Force 350,125 Sep. 2019 Employment 328,422 Sep. 2019 Unemployment 6.2% Sep. 2019
01/01/2010
09/01/1981 01/01/1976 0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
SOURCE: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research & Analysis Section
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www.penco.org December 2019 | 79
AT A GLANCE What book is on your nightstand? A Fine and Pleasant Misery by Patrick F. McManus. He’s a humorist. It kind of reminds me of me and some of the kids I used to hang around with when I was growing up. What movie do you recommend to everyone? The Revenant—I thought that was done really well and had a lot of different things going for it. And the bear attack was very well done. That’s how I imagine something like that would go. What’s the first thing you do after work? I usually change my clothes and go out into the garage. I make things. Some crafty, some artsy. That’s how I wind-down. If you couldn’t live in Alaska, where would you live? Definitely by the water, possibly tropical, but definitely on saltwater.
Images ©Kerry Tasker
If you could domesticate a wild animal what animal would it be? Maybe a snow leopard. I know it’s not possible, but in a dream world, snow leopards. They’re not too big, usually not too much over 100 pounds. They are one of the most gorgeous cats in the world. And they are cats, so you’re pond scum to them and they rule the world [he laughs].
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Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
OFF THE CUFF
Patrick Lampi P
atrick Lampi has been with the Alaska Zoo for the past thirty-three years. He got his start
working nights as a zookeeper in 1986 when the zoo was much smaller. “The thing I liked about [that time] is the zoo would close at 6 p.m., even in the summer… so for the last few hours of the day it was just me at the zoo with the animals. It was very relaxing.” Lampi was promoted to curator in 1993 and to his current position of executive director in 2005. Being executive director is “not so zen,” he says laughingly, but interesting and important
this idea that I could just walk him back and I wouldn’t have to [tranquilize] dart him. And it worked. I decided I’d give it a try and I got him to follow me back into the keeper area and we closed that door and opened up the den and then he just went waltzing into the den on his own. It worked that time. I don’t know if I’d try it again. AB: What’s your go-to comfort food? Lampi: Apple fritter. AB: Other than your current career, if you were a kid today, what would your dream job be? Lampi: Something to do with scuba diving. I learned to scuba dive in high school. Something like an underwater archaeologist would be fascinating.
nonetheless. “The zoo wouldn’t be here without the community. It’s a private nonprofit, but it’s a community zoo. It’s not just the city of Anchorage, the whole state is involved. We’ve taken in animals from every corner of the state and we’ve had kids come from every corner of the state…It’s a real pleasure to be a part of this team and watch it grow and evolve. It will be very interesting to see where it goes.”
AB: What’s your favorite way to exercise? Lampi: Probably hiking, a little golf, cross country skiing.
Alaska Business: What do you do in your free time? Patrick Lampi: In the summer I like to play a little golf, fish, hike. In the winter, a little cross-country skiing, but I also like to work on my arts and crafts too.
AB: What’s your greatest extravagance? Lampi: My tools [he laughs]… over the years I have collected quite a few.
AB: Is there a skill or talent you’ve always wanted to learn or are learning? Lampi: I would love to learn to play a musical instrument. But I just really don’t have any talent. I learned to play the harmonica once and I learned two songs. I went on a long hunting trip with some very good friends and I think on the second day they told me I better not pull out the harmonica because they didn’t want to hear those songs ever again in their lives [he laughs]. AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? Lampi: Probably something here at the zoo. We had a black bear get out during a storm. He wasn’t fully grown, but I had
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AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform live in concert? Lampi: Jason Aldean or The Rolling Stones.
AB: What’s your best and worst attribute? Lampi: I can be stubborn. I know that. I also think I’m pretty darn patient, too.
Alaska Business
December 2019 | 81
ADVERTISERS INDEX Aaron Plumbing & Heating Company............................................21 aaronak.com
Bradison Management Group (BMG).......................................35 bmgak.com
Alaska Air Cargo - Alaska Airlines........7 alaskaair.com
Carlile Transportation Systems..........61 carlile.biz
Alaska Center For Dermatology........35 dermalaska.com
Central Environmental Inc.................19 cei-alaska.com
Alaska Mergers & Acquisitions.......... 49 fink@alaska.net
Chevron Denali Express.....................23 denaliexpress.com
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium....................................... 84 anthc.org
Conrad-Houston Insurance Agency....42. chialaska.com
Alaska PTAC........................................21 ptacalaska.org Alaska Safety Alliance.........................53 alaskasafetyalliance.org Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA).................................................51 asaa.org Alaska USA Federal Credit Union.......12 alaskausa.org ALSCO.................................................47 alsco.com
Construction Machinery Industrial.....2 cmiak.com Cornerstone Advisors..........................9 buildbeyond.com Design Alaska.....................................51 designalaska.com Diamond Airport Parking.................. 44 diamondairportparking.com Explore Fairbanks...............................67 explorefairbanks.com
Island Air Express...............................70 islandairx.com
Personnel Plus................................... 69 perplus.com
Jim Meinel CPA P.C............................18 meinelcpa.com
PIP Marketing Signs Print...................31 pip.com
Katmai Oncology Group................... 43 katmaioncology.com
Providence Health & Services Alaska..................................................33 alaska.providence.org
Lynden Inc..........................................63 lynden.com Microcom.......................................... 48 microcom.tv Moda...................................................39 modahealth.com Nenana Heating Services Inc.........................................57 nenanahaetingservices.net
Quality Asphalt Paving.......................17 colaska.com Samson Tug & Barge..........................55 samsontug.com Scan Office.........................................25 scanhome.com T. Rowe Price........................................3 uacollegesavings.com
New Horizons Telecom Inc................27 nhtiusa.com
Technipress........................................ 42 tpress.net
North Star Behavioral Health............ 36 northstarbehavioral.com
Thomas Head & Greisen....................11 thgcpa.com
Northern Air Cargo......................76, 77 nac.aero
United Way of Anchorage..................13 liveunitedanchorage.org
Odyssey Logistics & Technology Corp...............................73 odysseylogistics.com
USI Insurance Services.......................37 usi.com
Altman Rogers & Co...........................57 altrogco.com
Fairbanks Block & Building Materials...............................55 fairbanksmaterials.com
American Heart Association............. 45 www.heart.org
First National Bank Alaska....................5 fnbalaska.com
Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters..................................... 56 nwcarpenters.org
American Marine / Penco........... 78, 79 amarinecorp.com
Great Originals Inc.............................53 greatoriginals.com
Pacific Pile & Marine...........................75 pacificpile.com
AT&T....................................................15 att.com
Hotel Captain Cook.......................... 30 captaincook.com
Parker Smith & Feek.......................... 83 psfinc.com
Westmark Hotels HAP Alaska......................................... 66 westmarkhotels.com
Avis Rent-A-Car..................................71 avisalaska.com
Ideal Health........................................ 70 idealhealthak.com
PDC Inc. Engineers........................... 49 pdceng.com
Yukon Equipment Inc........................ 24 yukoneq.com
Usibelli Coal Mine...............................41 usibelli.com Valdez Convention & Visitors Bureau................................... 65 valdezalaska.org
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ANTHC SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES
Forbes “Best-In-State Employer” • U.S. News & World Report “High Performing” Orthopedics • American College of Surgeons “Meritorious” Quality • Level II Trauma, Adults and Pediatrics • World Justice Project international award Harvard Honoring Nations Awards: Alaska Rural Utility Collaborative (2017) and Tribal Community Health Providers (2018)
Award winning care for Alaska Native people The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium mission is providing the highest quality health services in partnership with our people and the Alaska Tribal Health System. The highest quality care means better health outcomes and moves us closer to achieving our vision that Alaska Native people are the healthiest people in the world. From distinctive health care at the Alaska Native Medical Center to exceptional health services in rural communities, ANTHC offers award-winning services.
anthc.org
