2021 Annual Report

CARING FOR

OUR PEOPLE 2021 AN NUAL REPO RT

Table of

Contents 02

Letter From Our President & Board Chair Highlights of 2021’s challenges, rewards, and celebrations for Maniilaq from Board Chair Eva Kinneeveauk and President/CEO Tim Gilbert.

06

Caring for Our People Photo collage honoring all of those who continued to care for our people during the pandemic.

10

Addressing COVID-19 Learn how Maniilaq increased access to services to meet the needs of our community during the pandemic.

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Seal Oil Approval in Utuqqanaat Innat We celebrate finding a way to serve Elders safe and traditionally processed seal oil.

13

Growing Our Own Spotlight on Marjorie Baker, Nasauyaaq, and why she chose to return to Kotzebue after earning her degrees.

14

Scholarship Deadlines

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Local Heroes

Learn about upcoming scholarship deadlines.

Spotlight on tribal doctor/healer Sue Norton, who earned the Della Keats “Healing Hands” award from the Alaska Federation of Natives in 2021.

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COVID-19 Assistance From Elder food boxes to rental and utility assistance, Maniilaq continued to provide additional support to our people throughout the pandemic.

20

Financial Overview Overview of Maniilaq’s revenue and expenses in 2021.

Our Mission Savaqatigiiksugut. We are working together.

Working together to provide high quality, culturally relevant health, social and tribal services.

Our Vision Healthy people, thriving communities.

01

Letter from Our

President & Board Chair The Maniilaq Board of Directors and Maniilaq Administration humbly offer the 2021 Maniilaq Association Annual Report for our people and communities in the Maniilaq Service Area. This past year has been one of the most challenging years Maniilaq has seen in the recent past. We have been battling COVID-19 with our regional and statewide partners for what has now been 2-years. The manpower and other resources that have been needed to conduct all testing, provide vaccinations, and respond to the unique needs throughout the Maniilaq Service Area (MSA) have been unprecedented.

The theme of this year’s report is “Caring for Our People,” which truly captures the essence of 2021 – trying to meet primary care needs within each of our communities as well as the needs brought on by a global pandemic. We have always said that one of Maniilaq’s greatest assets and resources is our employees. This has never been more true than in this past year. The Maniilaq Board of Directors and Maniilaq Administration extend deep appreciation for all our staff has done this past year in caring for our patients/clients, families, and communities.

COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future.

We will continue to encourage our employees, patients, and community members to do those things that best protect us from COVID-19: 1) being up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, and 2) continuing the other behaviors that minimize our risk of exposure to COVID-19, such as wearing masks.

Maniilaq is also thankful for the resources that came from Federal, State, and other resources to fight COVID-19. If you are a funding agency that

generously provided resources to Maniilaq for these purposes, please know that you made a difference.

We also express deep gratitude to our regional partners such as NANA, the Northwest Arctic Borough, the Northwest Arctic Borough School District, the City of Kotzebue, and so many more. We would not have been able to accomplish the work without your help.

Finally, this report shares some of Maniilaq’s accomplishments this past year. Thank you for taking the time to review this year’s annual report.

Most importantly, however, thank you to the Tribes and communities for your continued support. Your input, feedback, and patience have helped us get through a challenging year and still accomplish program goals & objectives contributing to our Vision of “Healthy people, thriving communities.”

Eva Kinneeveauk, Maniilaq Board Chair

Tim Gilbert, President/CEO

03

Board of

Directors

Eva Kinneeveauk Chair Point Hope

Tanya Kirk At-Large Noatak

Elsie Sampson Vice-Chair Noorvik

Percy Ballot Member Buckland

Roselynn Custer Member Ambler

Lorena Walker Treasurer Kiana

Bonita Barr Member Deering

Gia Hanna Member Kotzebue

Johnetta Horner Secretary Kobuk

Isabelle Booth Member Kivalina

Allen Ticket, Sr. Member Selawik

Crystal Tickett Member Shungnak

Executive

Leadership

Tim Gilbert President/CEO

Charlie Nelson Vice President/Tribal Government Services

Dan Bain Chief Financial Officer

Chad Sheldon Chief Information Officer

Sharon Kurz Vice President of Health Services

Carol Schaeffer Director of Administrative Services

Bree Swanson Social Services Administrator

Gerty Viveiros-Gallahorn Human Resources Director

05

Caring for

Our People We humbly thank all those who continued to care for our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caring for our people is what we do, and we look forward to caring for one another in new and different ways.

07

09

Addressing

COVID-19

Throughout 2020 and 2021, one of Maniilaq’s priorities was implementing a COVID-19 response to keep our people and communities as safe as possible.

Pharmacy coordinated medication delivery for Elders and patients in COVID-19 quarantine/isolation

Providers made in-home visits for COVID-19 positive patients for Elders or those with special needs

Offered in-home COVID-19 testing and vaccination for Elders upon request

Provided housing to COVID-19 positive patients

Transported COVID-19 positive patients to Maniilaq Health Center, their home, or the testing center

Worked with the Northwest Arctic Borough School District to provide vaccine clinics in the school

Maniilaq

Service Area The Maniilaq Service area encompasses a remote area of 39,000 square miles — about the size of the state of Indiana.

Maniilaq Association represents twelve federally recognized tribes located in Northwest Alaska. The Association manages social and health services for about 8,000 people within the Northwest Arctic Borough and the village of Point Hope. Maniilaq also coordinates tribal and traditional assistance programs, and environmental and subsistence protection services.

Our Tribes Ambler Buckland Deering Kiana Kivalina Kobuk

Kotzebue Noatak Noorvik Point Hope Selawik Shungnak

11

Seal oil approval

in Utuqqanaat Inaat This March, the Elders at Utuqqanaat Inaat had their first visitors after a long pandemic lockdown, who came with a real treat — the first delivery of seal oil approved by the State of Alaska. Previously, the kitchen was prohibited from serving seal oil outside of monthly niqipiaq potlucks due to the risk of botulism, a rare but deadly foodborne illness linked with traditionally made seal oil.

That restriction that never sat well with the Elders who grew up eating seal oil daily, nor did it sit well with staff charged with making Utuqqanaat Inaat in a home-like environment. So, back in 2015, the Hunter Support Program and Office of Environmental Health set out to find a way to serve those Elders safe traditionally processed seal oil whenever they want. We turned our state-permitted traditional food processing and cold storage facility, called Siġluaq, into a seal oil rendering science lab. It took countless helping hands and five years of experimentation at the Siġluaq, and labs across the country, to develop a State-approved plan that ensures safe seal oil.

After rendering seal oil at the Siġluaq, much as you would do at home, we slightly heat the oil to 176F for 10 minutes. That little bit of heat is enough to destroy any botulinum toxins that may be in the oil. Thanks to the hard work of many people, past and present, the Elders can now have safe traditionally processed seal oil whenever they want, just like home! While we made history in 2021, the Hunter Support Program and Office of Environmental Health continue to expand the list of safe and nutritious niqipiaq foods offered to the Elders at Utuqqanaat Inaat.

Growing

Our Own

Marjorie Baker, Nasauyaaq Marjorie Baker was born and raised in Kotzebue, Alaska. Her parents are Andy and Tammy Baker and grandparents are the late Bob and Marge Baker and Gladys and Augie Nelson Sr. Marjorie earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences and a Bachelor of Science in Education from Oregon State University in 2021. She is currently a first-grade teacher at June Nelson Elementary School in Kotzebue. When asked why she wanted to return to Kotzebue to teach Marjorie said, “I wanted to come back to Kotzebue to be a teacher so I could be a role model to young people in our community and region and show them that no matter where you come from, you can be and do anything you set your mind to.”

Marjorie has enjoyed building relationships with her students and their families along with sharing our Inupiaq culture with her students.

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Scholarship

Deadlines Higher Education Scholarship Spring Fall

January 15, 2022 August 15, 2022

Paaraq Scholarship Spring Summer Fall

January 7, 2022 (1st Friday in January) June 3, 2022 (1st Friday in June) August 5, 2022 (1st Friday in August)

James Qignak Wells Endowment Scholarship Semester Deadlines Spring Summer Fall

January 7, 2022 (1st Friday in January) June 3, 2022 (1st Friday in June) August 5, 2022 (1st Friday in August)

James Qignak Wells Endowment Scholarship Quarter Deadlines Winter

January 7, 2022 (1st Friday in January)

Spring

March 4, 2022 (1st Friday in March)

Fall

August 5, 2022 (1st Friday in August)

Vocational training, endorsement or certificate programs Adult Vocational Training (AVT)

Application must be completed prior to the first day of training.

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)

Application must be completed prior to the first day of training.

Local

Heroes Sue Norton, Tribal Doctor Program Susanna (Sue) Norton was awarded the Della Keats “Healing Hands” award from the Alaska Federation of Natives in December 2021. For over 40 years, Sue has spent her professional career working with Alaska Native people and Elders and as a tribal doctor/tribal healer in Northwest Alaska.

She was born and raised in Noatak to Phyllis and Theodore Booth. Sue has raised four children and is happily raising her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Most of her career has been with Maniilaq Association, but she has spent time in the Nome and North Slope Areas as well. Sue was one of the original group of students that Della Keats taught at Maniilaq and has used what she has learned to provide traditional healing services before retiring in 2020.

15

Covid-19

Assistance HUNTER SUPPORT The Maniilaq Board of Directors approved an appropriation of $250,000 for the FY21 Hunter Support program as part of addressing food security related issues in the Maniilaq service area. Additionally, Maniilaq used one time Title VI COVID funding in the amount of $50,000 from the Administration for Children’s and Families to also supplement the FY21 Hunter Support Program. The Hunter Support Program provides financial assistance so elders aged sixty and over have access to traditional foods.

ELDER FOOD BOXES AND FOOD VOUCHERS Elder food boxes, food vouchers, and hunker down boxes were provided for families in need through Maniilaq’s Hardship Mitigation Program in support of Maniilaq Association’s vision of Healthy People, Thriving Communities.

In January 2021, Maniilaq began providing village elder meals which were packed weekly at the school and distributed every Wednesday by the local IRAs through May 2021. Maniilaq also received $30,000 of state COVID-19 Cares Act Funds to supplement the village elder meals by providing 120 elder food vouchers consisting of $200-$300 based on income/need following federal poverty guidelines to be used for groceries at their local store.

COVID RENT AND UTILITY SUPPORT Maniilaq Association, in partnership with United Way, provided rental and utility assistance through the AK Can Do COVID-19 Response Fund to individuals and families impacted by COVID-19. The individuals or families were impacted by either job loss or lost/reduction in working hours due to COVID-19. Maniilaq provided one-time payments up to $1,000 to help with rent and utilities. All payments were made directly to either landlords, mortgage holders, or utility providers. This program assisted 108 people in the Maniilaq service area. Maniilaq would like to thank Rasmuson Foundation, the United Way of Alaska, and The Alaska Community Foundation for creating the AK Can Do COVID-19 Response Fund and to all individuals that donated to this fund during these hard times.

Pandemic Emergency Assistance Funds (PEAF) Maniilaq Association offered Pandemic Emergency Assistance Funds (PEAF), which is a non-recurrent, short-term benefit to help families with children that have a specific crisis or an episode of need that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of December 31, 2021, 51 families with children have been served.

Throughout 2021, Maniilaq distributed a total of $102,000 to families in need.

Covid-19

Drawing With funding received from the Alaska Chamber, Maniilaq held a COVID-19 vaccine drawing open to residents of the Maniilaq service area who received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Maniilaq provided $59,000 in gift cards to residents of the Maniilaq service area along with two round-trip mileage tickets on Alaska Airlines. This funding was intended to increase vaccination rates in the Maniilaq service area.

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Staff

Retirements Lottie Tickett

Gayle Ralston Sr.

40 Years

20 Years

Elsie Dexter

Brian West

29 Years

16 Years

Susanna Norton

Ronald S. Shemenski

29 Years

15 Years

In

memoriam Ernest Hawley

Warren Olanna

Utuqqanaat Inaat Resident

Utuqqanaat Inaat Resident

Richard Hensley

Mamie Reich

Utuqqanaat Inaat Resident

Former Maniilaq Employee

Eva June Hunt

Minnie Savetilik

Former Maniilaq Employee

Utuqqanaat Inaat Resident

Frank Johnson Utuqqanaat Inaat Resident

19

Financial

Overview

2%

Funding Sources

3% 12%

Indian Health Service

$78,432,572

Third Party Revenue

$45,473,404

Grants and Contracts

$17,576,456

Bureau of Indian Affairs

$4,808,480

Other Income

$3,250,457

4%

4%

3%

30%

Expenses

9%

17%

52%

64%

Health Services

$83,744,616

Administration

$21,884,183

Social Services

$11,279,062

Tribal Government Services

$5,672,353

LTC (and Elder Meals)

$4,989,134

Capital

$3,975,549

21

CONTACT

MANIILAQ Human Resources 442-7660 Behavioral Health Services 442-7640 Realty Services 442-7623 Probate Services 442-7782 Donation Requests 442-7835 Appointment Desk 442-7777 Patient Advocacy (Kotzebue) 442-7156 Patient Advocacy (Anchorage) 444-8736 Patient Travel 442-7479 Pharmacy 442-7182 Public Health Nursing 442-7144 Workforce Development 442-7021 Finance 442-7750 Dental 442-7325 Optometry 442-7274