International Nurses Association

Many people wonder what kind of access Alaskans have to medical care.   Much of the population in Alaska is spread out, sometimes miles away from a neighbor, much less a hospital or clinic.   The rule of thumb in Alaska is, if there is a road leading to your home, you are not considered rural.   So what do they do when they have a medical emergency?   Well, it's not easy for sure.   In one large rural area of Alaska, the mostly Native American population opted to use federal government funds to build a medical facility, and supply it with an aircraft that could go to a rural home and transport patients.   This was in the early 1990s, and they have yet to work out the logistics.   The main problem is the weather.   They cannot agree on how to operate any type of flight equipment for 9 months out of the year.   They have discussed building the hospital anyway, but with no definitive means of transportation there, it has not been cost effective enough for support.   So, for n