Who, What, When, Where, and Why

Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, SEARHC (and no, it's not spelled wrong!), is a non-profit tribal health consortium of 18 Native communities which serves the medical needs of the Native people of Southeast Alaska. In 1976, SEARCH partnered with the Indian Health Service programs in an effort to turn over the day to day operations of all clinics to tribal leaders. The consortium is made up of 18 Native communities spanning all of Southeast Alaska.

SEARHC has the ultimate goal of recognizing and responding to the glaring needs of tribal members. As it is run by the Indian Health Services, SEARHC incorporates traditional Native cultural practices and values into their health care delivery system (SEARHC –Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium).

Throughout the course of the summer I will be working with Dr. Kim Hort and other dentists in the SEARHC clinics. My experience this summer will involve many different steps that will eventually culminate in the completion of a summer project that encompasses many different aspects. Initially, my role at SEARHC will be as an investigator.

I will be involved in patient interaction to determine how effective SEARHC has been in promoting the idea of preventative dentistry to Native Alaskans. Further, I will analyze what methods of communication have worked well and which have not – essentially, how Alaskans learn best when it comes to the complex dental profession. I will work with members of SEARHC (namely, Jeanie Monk, Grants Professional, and Sara Beaber-Fujioka, Biostatistician) who have previously constructed surveys and completed research to ensure that my efforts are thorough and complete.

After the completion of the survey I will work more closely with Dr. Hort to create a program and curriculum that would highlight the importance of preventative dentistry. This program would be distributed to school systems as well as become a learning tool for SEARHC’s web of medical clinics. The program will be completely based on the information gathered from the survey so as to maximize the effect it will have on the patients taking the course.

During both of these processes I will be traveling around the state of Alaska visiting different clinics that are run by the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. Some of the specific clinics that I will be visiting in addition to the clinic in Juneau, AK will be in Hoonah, AK and Haines, AK. This will give me the opportunity to include many different types of opinions and learning styles into my curriculum. In addition, a portion of the summer will be spent working in dental offices – shadowing and observing how dental care in Alaska varies from the traditional mold that I have observed in Nashville and St. Louis.

My summer project is very diverse and multi-tiered. There are many components to my project – cultural exposure, research, survey development, patient interaction and, of course, community service. While the impact of my service will be realized once I am gone, I will still have the opportunity to provide meaningful, hands-on service.

As part of each day I will have the opportunity to serve as a dental and administrative assistant at varying dental clinics. Since SEARHC falls under the large umbrella of Indian Health Services, there is often not enough funding to support all of their exploits. As a result, I will be working daily to maximize administrative efficiency and help with the day-to-day operations of the dental clinics. This will be particularly important at the smaller dental clinics in Hoonah, AK and Haines, AK.