Author: Angela Cox

Wasilla, Alaska – The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) has welcomed two new employees: Kelsey Anderson as program assistant and Alicia Sidebottom as program associate.

As the program assistant, Anderson provides primary administrative support to the philanthropic team and backup support for all administrative positions in the organization. Anderson brings administrative and office management experience to her role having previously worked for Suilnua, NuLyfe Labs and Odland Family Practice Clinic. She has an associate degree in accounting from the University of Phoenix.

As program associate, Sidebottom reviews scholarship applications, provides programmatic support on initiatives and programs, and acts as a liaison between the philanthropic team and other MSHF staff, training providers, scholarship applicants and recipients, and other stakeholders. Before joining MSHF, Sidebottom worked in a range of industries for organizations such as the Food Bank of Alaska, Wild Alaskan Company and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She has a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

###

About Mat-Su Health Foundation: Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) is the official business name of Valley Hospital Association, Inc., which shares ownership in Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. In this capacity, MSHF board members and representatives actively participate in the governance of Mat-Su’s community hospital to protect the community’s interest in this important healthcare institution. The MSHF mission is to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su and the tools it uses include grantmaking, convening of local partners, and policy change. The foundation’s work has resulted in significant improvements in systems that support the health of Mat-Su residents in areas such as behavioral health, child welfare, crisis response, community connections, workforce development, transportation, housing, and senior services. More information is available at www.healthymatsu.org .

Wasilla, Alaska – The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) has announced that Jessie Burbank, Connect Mat-Su information and referral coordinator, has received the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) Community Resource Specialist Certification. Only three other individuals in Alaska share the credential.

AIRS is a professional membership association for community Information and Referral (I&R). The AIRS credential certifies Burbank’s ability to work effectively with clients to provide mediated information and referral systems navigation.

“Through this certification Jessie has demonstrated that she is highly skilled at establishing rapport, conducting assessments, providing an informed choice of referrals, engaging in follow-up and providing advocacy or crisis intervention if required.” said Connect Mat-Su Director Ashley Peltier. “The certification process is not easy and requires a combination of work experience and education as well as the successful passing of an examination. We’re proud of Jessie’s dedication to improving the quality of service she provides to Connect Mat-Su clients.”

Connect Mat-Su is currently working towards the goal of having all its staff receive AIRS Certification. Once 51% staff members have completed the process, Connect Mat-Su will be eligible to apply for AIRS Accreditation as an organization.

Connect Mat-Su was developed by the Mat-Su Health Foundation and community partners to be a comprehensive and innovative health and social services information and referral resource center. It links residents with access to the information, referrals, and direct assistance they need to thrive physically, mentally, socially and emotionally. It is located in the Mat-Su Health Foundation building at 777 N. Crusey St. in Wasilla. More information is available at connectmatsu.org.

###

About Mat-Su Health Foundation: Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) is the official business name of Valley Hospital Association, Inc., which shares ownership in Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. In this capacity, MSHF board members and representatives actively participate in the governance of Mat-Su’s community hospital to protect the community’s interest in this important healthcare institution. The MSHF mission is to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su and the tools it uses include grantmaking, convening of local partners, and policy change. The foundation’s work has resulted in significant improvements in systems that support the health of Mat-Su residents in areas such as behavioral health, child welfare, crisis response, community connections, workforce development, transportation, housing, and senior services. More information is available at www.healthymatsu.org .

Wasilla, Alaska – The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) awarded eight Healthy Impact, Strategic and Discovery grants totaling $1,020,997 in the first quarter of 2022. The grants will support local nonprofit organizations providing services to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su.

• Alaska Children’s Trust: $15,000 to support the Alaska Afterschool Network in providing professional development to afterschool and summer programs in the Mat-Su, engage Mat-Su providers in its Youth Program Quality Initiative, and convene and strengthen the afterschool sector.
• Alaska Family Services: $30,000 to provide an additional year of funding for the half-time CEO (Chief Elf Organizer) and quarter-time Assistant CEO positions for the Mat-Su Special Santa program.
• Beacon Hill: $226,398 for the Safe Families for Children hosting program in Mat-Su, including recruiting for and training of host families and other program volunteers.
• Blood-N-Fire Ministries: $145,540 in operating funds for the Knik House program that offers temporary housing supports to individuals experiencing homelessness.
• LINKS Mat-Su Parent Resource Center: $454,000 for operating funds for the High Utilizer Mat-Su (HUMS) program providing complex case management for adults who are high utilizers of hospital emergency department.
• Mat-Su Imagination Library: $35,000 to help maintain monthly book deliveries from the national Imagination Library for enrolled Mat-Su children under five years of age.
• University of Alaska Foundation: $40,059 to support the COVID-19 Resilience Recovery Program which builds resilience through a focus on three key factors: self-awareness, coping skills, and boundaries.
• Wasilla High School: $75,000 to commission a new statue representing the school’s namesake, Chief Wasilla, that will replace the existing installation at the school’s front entrance and to support the development of local educational materials about Dena’ina history and culture.

Information about all Mat-Su Health Foundation grant programs is available at www.healthymatsu.org.

###

About Mat-Su Health Foundation: Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) is the official business name of Valley Hospital Association, Inc., which shares ownership in Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. In this capacity, MSHF board members and representatives actively participate in the governance of Mat-Su’s community hospital to protect the community’s interest in this important healthcare institution. The MSHF mission is to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su and the tools it uses include grantmaking, convening of local partners, and policy change. The foundation’s work has resulted in significant improvements in systems that support the health of Mat-Su residents in areas such as behavioral health, child welfare, crisis response, community connections, workforce development, transportation, housing, and senior services. More information is available at www.healthymatsu.org

Wasilla AK – Members of the newly created Mat-Su Valley Drug Endangered Multidisciplinary Team (DEC-MDT) hosted a celebration and signing party Friday, April 1 in Wasilla. The event formalized the DEC-MDT with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding and interagency protocols. The first of its kind in Alaska, the DEC-MDT will improve the ability of the State of Alaska, Mat-Su Borough, local tribes, and social service agencies to coordinate interventions and improve the collective response to children and families affected by substance misuse in the borough.

“Child abuse and neglect is a community problem, and the Office of Children’s Services works with our community partners to make Alaska’s children safer and families stronger. This project in the Mat-Su Valley is a great example of a community coming together and creating a solution to help children experiencing neglect or abuse as a result of parental substance abuse. It is our community wrapping their arms around families and saying, ‘We got you!’” said Virginia Moring, Protective Services Manager 2, Office of Children’s Services.

The project began in 2018 with the award of a Department of Justice grant to Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC). That grant ended and R.O.C.K. (Raising Our Children with Kindness) Mat-Su is now providing support for continuation of the project. Over the three-year life of the CITC grant, institutional and community stakeholders, including individuals with lived experience, held a series of meetings, focus groups, and workgroups aimed at identifying gaps in how cases involving drug-endangered children were handled. These groups identified a need for increased interagency communication, training, improved understanding of agency roles, and a consistent definition of drug-endangered children as necessary components to improving system response and reducing further trauma to children and their families.

The DEC-MDT, which includes first responders and social service agencies, was created to fulfill those needs and help close these gaps. Together DEC-MDT members created the MOU and interagency protocols that outline a process for assessing and responding to drug-related calls where children are present in the home. The MOU delineates each agency’s roles and responsibilities in working with and responding to this population. The interagency protocol outlines how cases involving drug-endangered children will be handled, including dispatching social service agencies to the home soon after a drug-related encounter with law enforcement to provide necessary support services and interventions to children and their families.

DEC-MDT members include the Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Youth and Family Network, Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, The Children’s Place, Knik Tribe, Mat-Su Borough School District, Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, Office of Children’s Services, Palmer Police Department, Set Free Alaska, State of Alaska Department of Law Attorney General’s Office Civil Division, State of Alaska Department of Law Palmer District Attorney’s Office and Wasilla Police Department.

###

About Mat-Su Health Foundation: Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) is the official business name of Valley Hospital Association, Inc., which shares ownership in Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. In this capacity, MSHF board members and representatives actively participate in the governance of Mat-Su’s community hospital to protect the community’s interest in this important healthcare institution. The MSHF mission is to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su and the tools it uses include grantmaking, convening of local partners, and policy change. The foundation’s work has resulted in significant improvements in systems that support the health of Mat-Su residents in areas such as behavioral health, child welfare, crisis response, community connections, workforce development, transportation, housing, and senior services. More information is available at www.healthymatsu.org.

Wasilla, Alaska – The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) has welcomed Danielle Reed as its new director of data and impact and announced the promotions of  three team members, Megan Ernst, Chelsea Hedrick and Brian Tiefenbrun.

In the role of director of data and impact, Reed lends her insight and experience to help address complex issues, facilitate discovery and inform prevention-focused solutions underlying the foundation’s work. She serves as a key thought partner and strategist supporting the organization to grow and adapt over time and will evaluate the impact of the foundation’s initiatives. Before joining the MSHF team Reed spent 13 years working at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Center for Human Development in a range of roles including most recently that of director of community services. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Michigan Technological University, as well as a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Wright State University in Ohio and a master’s degree in business administration from UAA.

Ernst was promoted to R.O.C.K. Mat-Su program manager with a focus in systems-change. In this role she  is part of the team providing backbone support to the R.O.C.K. Mat-Su cross-sector partnership. She is responsible for engaging and managing community partners working collectively to create transformative change in the secondary and tertiary prevention systems that influence children and families in the Mat-Su. Ernst has been with R.O.C.K. Mat-Su since July 2020 as systems coordinator. She previously worked at UAA where she was student conduct and ethical development coordinator. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from UAA.

Chelsea Hedrick was  promoted to Connect Mat-Su projects and partnerships coordinator. In this role she works to identify and execute opportunities for Connect Mat-Su systems-level projects and partnerships. Hedrick has been with Connect Mat-Su since April 2021 as community resource specialist. Before joining the team full-time, Hedrick held a temporary role coordinating Connect Mat-Su’s COVID-19 information line. Prior to that she worked as a project coordinator with Bozeman Green Build and the Madison River Foundation. She holds an Associate of Applied Sciences in fisheries technology and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Alaska.

Brian Tiefenbrun was promoted to Connect Mat-Su operations manager. In this role he provides oversight and stabilization to the daily operations of Connect Mat-Su while supporting the infrastructure needed to deliver high quality information and referral services. Brian has been with Connect Mat-Su since February 2020 in the roles of community resource specialist and operations coordinator. He was previously an investigator for the Office of Children’s Services where he focused on clients struggling with trauma and substance abuse. Tiefenbrun is a veteran of the U.S. Army and has also worked at North Star Behavioral Health. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from American Military University.

###

About Mat-Su Health Foundation: Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) is the official business name of Valley Hospital Association, Inc., which shares ownership in Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. In this capacity, MSHF board members and representatives actively participate in the governance of Mat-Su’s community hospital to protect the community’s interest in this important healthcare institution. The MSHF mission is to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su and the tools it uses include grantmaking, convening of local partners, and policy change. The foundation’s work has resulted in significant improvements in systems that support the health of Mat-Su residents in areas such as behavioral health, child welfare, crisis response, community connections, workforce development, transportation, housing, and senior services. More information is available at www.healthymatsu.org

Wasilla, Alaska – The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) purchased 26,000 in-home rapid CareStart COVID-19 Antigen Tests and partnered with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough (MSB) for free distribution of the tests throughout the Mat-Su. With reported case counts in the Mat-Su remaining high, individuals knowing whether they have COVID-19 is key in mitigating the spread of the illness.

“Removing barriers for Mat-Su residents to get tested for COVID-19 is another step toward meeting the immediate health needs in our community,” said MSHF President and CEO Elizabeth Ripley. “While testing has been widely available, it is not always convenient or cost-effective for people to go to a testing site. This program is designed to bring an important tool to anyone who needs it so they can make the decisions that are best for themselves and their families. In addition, one barrier to testing is concern about privacy. Home test kits provide an option that is completely anonymous, free and accessible no matter where you are located in the Mat-Su.”

MSB Emergency Manager Casey Cook said, “Our hope is that by making at-home COVID-19 test kits accessible and readily available for residents, we can increase the opportunity for every resident to do their part in mitigating the impact of the ongoing pandemic.”

Home test kits are considered safe and reliable to use, but they do have higher rate of false negative results than other tests. Therefore, users who test negative are advised to do a second test three days after the first or seek a molecular/PCR test from a medical provider to confirm negative results, especially if they have symptoms. Each kit includes two tests to make this possible. A person who tests positive should self-isolate and seek follow-up care with a healthcare provider as soon as possible.

The MSB took possession of the test kits Monday, November 8, and immediately began managing distribution to more than 20 locations throughout the borough including many libraries, healthcare providers and social services agencies. A list of the locations and pickup instructions will be released once dissemination is complete and each site has finalized its distribution plan.

Local resource center Connect Mat-Su, operated by the MSHF, supports a COVID-19 Info Line at 907-373-2628 extension 2. Operators associated with the Alaska Primary Care Association and specially trained by Mat-Su Public Health are available to provide assistance Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to answering questions about the home test kits, they can also help with out-of-home test options, vaccination, and other COVID-related information.

The MSHF used funding from a federal CDC grant awarded to the MSB and the cities of Houston, Palmer and Wasilla and managed by the foundation to purchase the test kits.

###

Wasilla, Alaska – The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) has announced 17 Healthy Impact and Coronavirus Prevention and Response (CPR) grant awards totaling more than $2 million.

CPR grants are unrestricted funding to support local nonprofits as they address unplanned expenses and/or lost revenue relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The six recently awarded CPR grants totaled $232,251 and bring the total awarded under this program so far to more than $1.3 million. Recipients of the latest round of CPR grants included the following:

• The Children’s Place: $2,500 to support the Gala Havana Ball since this fundraiser had to be altered due to COVID-19.
• Pediatric Resource Center of Alaska: $30,446 to expand access to applied behavior analysis services in the Mat-Su Valley.
• Pop Warner Little Scholars Inc.: $50,000 for part-time staff to focus on COVID training and safety protocols for players and spectators, for scholarships to families who struggled during the pandemic to place their children in outdoor, socially connected activities, and to reimburse for materials purchased to mitigate COVID-19 transmission.
• Set Free Alaska, Inc.: $49,305 in COVID-related operating support and $50,000 for housing, food and support services for individuals needing to quarantine due to COVID-19.
• United Way of Mat-Su: $50,000 to support the Early Childhood Partnership which will purchase nutritious snack items in bulk to be distributed as pre-assembled snack sacks to local childcare providers.

Healthy Impact grants are for projects over $15,000 that will improve the health and wellness of people living in the Mat-Su Borough. The Mat-Su Health Foundation awarded 11 Healthy Impact grants totaling $1,844,661 to the following organizations:

• Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness: $85,831 to fund adding a Mat-Su Youth Support Specialist to their team and YAB support.
• Alaska Farmland Trust: $242,700 to support ongoing operations.
• Alaska State Fair, Inc.: $50,000 toward a livestock barn for youth agriculture activities in the new youth development area at the Rebarchek Agricultural Park
• Alzheimer’s Resource of Alaska.: $115,000 to support an evidence-based cognitive wellness program intended to increase mental sharpness and stabilize or slow decline for Mat-Su residents with memory loss or dementia concerns.
• CCS Early Learning: $494,550 to fund furniture, fixtures and equipment for a new Head Start facility in the Knik-Fairview Census Designated Place and for paving of its driveway and parking lot.
• The Foraker Group: $35,000 to support guiding nonprofits in the Mat-Su and Alaska toward a path of sustainability and $50,000 to support leadership transition.
• Mat-Su Baseball, Inc. Palmer: $85,000 to upgrade the bathrooms for improved community usage, accessibility and public health during the pandemic.
• Onward & Upward, Inc.: $193,335 to support ongoing operations and to fund technical assistance for a long-term business plan with sustainability projections.
• REACH 907: $245,000 to expand organizational services to become a Medicaid-billable children’s mental health clinic.
• Set Free Alaska, Inc.: $248,245 to support housing, food and behavioral health services for up to nine individuals at a time who are in need of quarantine services.

Information about all Mat-Su Health Foundation grant programs is available here.

###

About Mat-Su Health Foundation: Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) is the official business name of Valley Hospital Association, Inc., which shares ownership in Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. In this capacity, MSHF board members and representatives actively participate in the governance of Mat-Su’s community hospital to protect the community’s interest in this important healthcare institution. The MSHF mission is to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su and the tools it uses include grantmaking, convening of local partners, and policy change. The foundation’s work has resulted in significant improvements in systems that support the health of Mat-Su residents in areas such as behavioral health, child welfare, crisis response, community connections, workforce development, transportation, housing, and senior services. More information is available at www.healthymatsu.org .

Wasilla, Alaska – The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) has partnered with the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the cities of Houston, Palmer and Wasilla to manage $5.1 million in federal grant funds to support community-driven strategies for COVID-19 prevention and recovery. The new Community-Driven C-19 Response Funding program will provide support in three strategic areas: COVID-19 testing, COVID-19 vaccination and activities to decrease health inequities highlighted by COVID-19.

“It will take the entire community coming together to make progress towards pre-pandemic conditions,” said MSHF Vice President of Programs Karen Koenemann. “This partnership with the State of Alaska and local governments to disburse federal dollars will give local organizations the funding they need to prevent further spread of the disease and at the same time support recovery from the pandemic.”

Organizations eligible to apply for funding include nonprofit and for-profit entities, healthcare providers, tribes, governments, school districts/schools and faith-based organizations that support the health and wellness of borough residents. Applicants must have a physical location in the Mat-Su or indicate what services or population numbers they serve in the Mat-Su.

Examples of activities that may be funded include the following:

• COVID-19 vaccination.
• COVID-19 testing, including testing for employees and/or participants in reoccurring activities.
• Mobile testing and/or vaccination.
• COVID-19 mitigation needs for facilities (minor renovation, supplies, equipment).
• Transportation for non-medical emergency COVID-19 testing and/or vaccination.
• Expansion of hardware/software to improve laboratory capacity and information technologies or to provide other support related to the goals of the funding.
• Temporary staffing to support medical care providers in contacting patients who have not yet been vaccinated.
• COVID-19 outreach and community engagement including events or booths at health fairs, conferences, and community gatherings (e.g., sports or faith-based events) or other information-sharing events.
• Translation of information materials to other languages and/or to meet ADA requirements.
• Outreach to specific geographic areas, neighborhoods, vulnerable populations or population groups to address health equity.
• Targeted media materials and dissemination, such as the creation of videos, mailers, radio/newspaper ads and social media.
• Targeted grants to nonprofits to support mental and behavioral health and/or healthy living related to COVID-19 recovery, mitigation and prevention measures.
• COVID-19 recovery and/or prevention support for homeless, seasonal/transient, vulnerable or other at-risk populations.
• Support for faith-based communities and other types of organizations to support COVID-19 recovery and/or prevention.
• Childcare by a state-licensed facility on a drop-off basis to enable access to the vaccine/testing.
• Emergency preparedness assessment and identifying improvements to be better prepared for a public health emergency.
• Improvement of community centers or gathering locations to increase testing, vaccination, quarantine options and/or support socially distanced activities.
• Upgrading of facilities and/or public buildings with touchless plumbing fixtures.
• Health improvements within homeless outreach programs.
• Air filtration via portable HEPA filtration for enclosed spaces (classrooms, meeting rooms, offices, etc.) and/or other ways to increase ventilation.
• Mitigation/prevention efforts that limit the spread of disease such as quarantine/isolation and/or delivery expenses of food for vulnerable/homebound populations.
• Incentives such as <$25 value items (gift cards, taxi vouchers, transport voucher, childcare) to remove barriers to testing or vaccination.
• Incentives for medical providers to use VacTrAK and/or to boost wellness visits with COVID information.
• Outreach activities by entities that represent underserved populations.
• Stipends for local experts or community members to share outreach educational information about COVID-19 and/or contribute to community-focused groups or health advisory groups, etc.
• Respite services due to COVID-19. For example, quarantine and/or lodging for individuals before or after treatment, to prevent homelessness or out-of-home care.

This is not an exhaustive list and other ideas are strongly encouraged. More details on this opportunity are available at www.healthymatsu.org. Organizations interested in pursuing funding may contact the Mat-Su Health Foundation by phone at (907) 373-2827 or by email to c19grant@www.healthymatsu.org.

###

About Mat-Su Health Foundation: Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) is the official business name of Valley Hospital Association, Inc., which shares ownership in Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. In this capacity, MSHF board members and representatives actively participate in the governance of Mat-Su’s community hospital to protect the community’s interest in this important healthcare institution. The MSHF mission is to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su and the tools it uses include grantmaking, convening of local partners, and policy change. The foundation’s work has resulted in significant improvements in systems that support the health of Mat-Su residents in areas such as behavioral health, child welfare, crisis response, community connections, workforce development, transportation, housing, and senior services. More information is available at www.healthymatsu.org .