H E A LT H C A R E SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Voices of Healthcare: Professional Perspectives The Alaska healthcare landscape By Scott Rhode
“I
Dr. Maryna Orin Kerry Tasker
26 | December 2021
think there’s been a change in culture, and I think Alaska has been a little bit more progressive in promoting women,” says Ella Goss, CEO of Providence Alaska Medical Center (PAMC). Goss started working at Anchorage’s largest hospital in 1997 as an ER nurse and rose through the ranks of management. Providence has intentionally promoted female leaders from within, she says, developing their potential because the talent pool in Alaska is so small due to the state’s population. The population was even smaller when four Roman Catholic nuns followed the 1902 gold rush to Nome and started a hospital there. In 1910, they built a hospital in Fairbanks, and in 1939 they built a fifty-two-bed hospital in Anchorage. PAMC has grown Ella Goss to 401 beds and is one of the Providence Alaska Medical Center largest employers in the state. From the Sisters of Providence to the face of Alaska’s COVID-19 response, Dr. Anne Zink, women have led the way when it comes to keeping the Last Frontier healthy. Without discounting the contributions of the entire medical community, Alaskans have relied on female physicians, nurses, therapists, technicians, administrators, and support staff as the backbone of the healthcare system. Because of this history, we sought women’s perspectives on the state of healthcare in Alaska, particularly as the pandemic has tested the system and everyone who works to maintain it.
Wash your hands | Socially distance | Wear a mask www.akbizmag.com
