newsfromthestates.com · September 8, 2026
Tribal consortium achieves long-desired ownership of Alaska Native Medical Center | News From The States [ Skip to main content ](#main-content) [   Part of States Newsroom ](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/) search Sort by Latest Relevant Search Search  Stories From The States Colorado ranchers join fight against fossil fuel companies 28:57 https://play.prx.org/e?ge=prx\_14251\_3c1657e2-db5d-478b-98db-eb90ca023a81&uf=https%3A%2F%2Fpublicfeeds.net%2Ff%2F14251%2Fstoriesfromthestates.xml [   Part of States Newsroom ](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/) News ###### Tribal consortium achieves long-desired ownership of Alaska Native Medical Center ## Share [Bluesky](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#bluesky)[X](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#x)[Facebook](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#facebook)[Email](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#email)[Copy Link](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#copy_link)  [Alaska](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/state/alaska) [News](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/news) # Tribal consortium achieves long-desired ownership of Alaska Native Medical Center [Healthcare](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/category/healthcare-0) [Indigenous Affairs](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/category/indigenous-affairs) Sep 08, 2026 | 6:07 pm ET By Yereth Rosen Share [Bluesky](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#bluesky)[X](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#x)[Facebook](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#facebook)[Email](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#email)[Copy Link](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#copy_link)  Description The main entrance to the Alaska Native Medical Center is on Sept. 6, 2026. The building's design incorporates elements of Alaska's Indigenous cultures, and has been recognized by professional architecture and design organizations. The hospital was previously owned by the Indian Health Service. A transfer made effective in late August gave ownership to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) The nation’s biggest tribal health organization now owns the Anchorage hospital it has long operated. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium gained title to the Alaska Native Medical Center, the hospital at the center of the organization’s 140-acre campus in Midtown Anchorage. Ownership was officially [transferred](https://anthc.org/historic-transfer-places-alaska-native-medical-center-in-tribal-ownership/) from the Indian Health Service last month. The [long-sought](https://alaskabeacon.com/2025/03/19/alaska-native-tribal-health-consortium-leader-working-toward-hospital-ownership/) acquisition was an important milestone, said ANTHC President Natasha Singh. “Alaska Native people have done a great job operating the Alaska Native Medical Center. The hospital is truly the heart of our system and now we officially own it. This gives us more control over our own future,” she said in an interview. The hospital, the second largest in Alaska after Providence Alaska Medical Center, opened in 1997, the same year that ANTHC was founded. Until now, the Indian Health Service was the facility owner. Through a compact with the Indian Health Service, ANTHC operated most of the services at the hospital, while Southcentral Foundation, the Tribal health provider for the local region, operated some of the primary care services. Federal ownership had some downsides, Singh said. Because of it, the consortium did not qualify for certain federal funds that it would have otherwise been able to use, she said. And investment in the facilities was too slow to meet patient needs, she said. The hospital acquisition was preceded by several preliminary steps over the past several years.  The Alaska Native Health Campus is seen on Sept. 6, 2026, with a sign pointing the direction to the Alaska Native Medical Center. The hospital is at the heart of the campus. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) There were some Congressional [acts](https://alaskabeacon.com/2026/07/22/alaska-native-tribal-health-consortium-to-get-400-million-in-federal-settlement/) transferring federal land to ANTHC, including a bill sponsored by the late Rep. Don Yong that was [signed](https://alaskabeacon.com/2026/07/22/alaska-native-tribal-health-consortium-to-get-400-million-in-federal-settlement/) by President Barack Obama in 2013. There was a formal decision by the ANTHC board, which has members from all of the state’s regional tribal health organizations, on how and when to take ownership. And there was an official request submitted to the federal government a little over a year ago, Singh said. “It’s been our longtime vision, but I think our federal partners acted quickly when we put in the request,” she said. Even before the ownership changed, the board approved over $462 million in improvements, including an expansion of the emergency department, Singh said. It was the largest investment in the hospital’s history, intended to counter “decades of underinvestment,” she said. “So half a billion dollars (was) essentially planned to go into a building the Tribes did not even own, but the ANTHC board knew how much it really matters,” she said. The transfer also followed a $400 million [settlement](https://alaskabeacon.com/2026/07/22/alaska-native-tribal-health-consortium-to-get-400-million-in-federal-settlement/) with the federal government for shortfalls in funding of administrative services, facilities maintenance and other functions. The modern hospital evolved from historic services provided by the Indian Health Service, which began serving Alaska Natives in the 1940s, according to a [summary](https://anmc.org/history/) compiled by Southcentral Foundation. In 1953, the federal government opened a hospital in Anchorage, primarily to serve patients suffering from a tuberculosis epidemic, according to the summary. Despite [impacts](https://vilda.alaska.edu/digital/collection/cdmg2/id/1189/) from the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake, it continued to operate through the disaster, and even cared for patients [evacuated](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/1163953) from Providence Hospital. The modern hospital replaced that facility. The modern hospital was [designed](https://ssir.org/articles/entry/native_wisdom_is_revolutionizing_health_care) with elements of Alaska Native cultures, and it and its adjacent facilities have won awards for their innovative architecture, including one in 2018 for patient [housing](https://www.reidmiddleton.com/awards/award-winning-patient-housing-at-alaska-native-medical-center/) and one from [last year](https://aiaalaska.space/design-awards-winners/) for the emergency department expansion. With the transfer of ow