As a medical provider in the small primary care practice in Anchorage, I was appalled to learn this morning about the plans of Alaska Regional Hospital to build a standalone ER. To me, as a “not in the loop” physician, this is a pure competition/ profit-bringing exercise and not a concern for our population to get more access to medical care.
If so, why did ARH’s administration/ board of directors not worry about closing its primary care office and letting roughly 5,000 patients go without a doctor, so now they are having more urgent issues (otherwise preventable)? The answer is that there is no money in preventing urgent situations and care for chronic disease — or, I would say, not enough money. It is all backward and makes no sense.
— Dr. Ulyana Stiassny
(Family Practice)
Anchorage
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