Group addressing chronic shortage of Alaska healthcare workers

A relaunched coalition of industry and nonprofit leaders aims to address critical shortages in Alaska’s healthcare workforce.

For two decades, the nonprofit Alaska Safety Alliance and now its new subsidiary, the Alaska Workforce Alliance, have worked to ensure the availability of a highly trained workforce sufficient to staff the state’s industries safely and competitively.The organization’s focus on workforce development builds skills and proficiencies of Alaskans with the twin goal of successful careers for individuals, and a vibrant workforce for industry.

Part of that effort included a health-care-centered initiative to address Alaska’s chronic shortage of workers in that sector. The Alaska Health Workforce Coalition operated for 10 years before winding down during the Covid pandemic.

But new interest – and funding – revived the group in 2025. Jacqueline Summers, the Alaska Safety Alliance’s workforce development program manager, said the reconstituted health workforce coalition is the state’s hub for healthcare career development.

“We connect educators, trainers, and healthcare organizations to create coordinated pathways into health professions,” she said. “Through pooled resources and innovative initiatives, the coalition addresses workforce shortages, expands career opportunities for Alaskans, and improves community health access across the state.”

The effort to reinvigorate the Alaska Health Workforce Coalition began locally. For more than three years, Summers facilitated the Workforce Development Network at the Mat-Su Health Foundation, in collaboration with Health Foundation staff, including Vandana Ingle, now the Foundation’s chief impact officer.

The group connected health workforce training and education programs, with the purpose of growing opportunities for Mat-Su residents and ensuring that healthcare organizations and clinics had better access to qualified professionals.

“Over multiple meetings, it became clear that bringing organizations and people involved in health workforce development together is crucially important,” Summers said. “Too often, miscommunications or busy schedules get in the way of making sure information is being shared or that students have warm hand-offs or access to services that will help them be successful.”

Despite being focused on the Mat-Su region, Summers said, the group evolved to a statewide role because there was no longer a statewide organization bringing the necessary people together. A September $50,000 grant from the Health Foundation, coupled with additional funding from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, formalized the reborn Alaska Health Workforce Coalition.

The nonprofit Mat-Su Health Foundation has been seeding similar nonprofit success stories since 2008, when its grant program began. As part owner of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, the Health Foundation channels a share of its hospital profits into the community. With more than $165 million invested in the Mat-Su in the last 16 years, through scholarships, sponsorships, and grants to nonprofits across the borough, the Health Foundation remains a partner in community health and wellness, while continuing to do its part to ensure that the hospital meets the needs of the Valley’s growing population.

Summers cited the importance of “committed collaboration” in getting the Alaska Health Workforce Coalition up and running again.

“Without the support of Vandana Ingle and the Mat-Su Health Foundation, the relaunch of the Alaska Health Workforce Coalition simply wouldn't have happened,” she said. “Their leadership and support were absolutely pivotal.”

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www.alaskasafetyalliance.org