Providence Alaska Medical Center is Alaska's largest hospital by revenue and number of beds. It has 401 beds, 1190 nurses and more than 850 physicians on staff. It is often ranked the largest private employer in Alaska. It is located at 3200 Providence Drive in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

, across the street from the main campus of the

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna College, and Pr ...

. The hospital is accredited by the

Joint Commission The Joint Commission is a United States-based nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c) organization that accredits more than 22,000 US health care organizations and programs. The international branch accredits medical services from around the world. A majori ...

Description

Divisions include: The Children's Hospital at Providence, a Maternity Center, which houses the state's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit;

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as ca ...

and

Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Centers; Alaska's largest emergency department with LifeMed Alaska air ambulance transport and one of only two

trauma center A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emerge ...

s in the state; full diagnostic, rehabilitation and surgical services; and both inpatient and outpatient

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles Stress (biology), stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-maki ...

and

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

recovery services for

adults An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of maj ...

and

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

. Other programs include a Family Practice Center, Sleep Disorders Center, Providence Imaging Center, Providence Home Health Care and telemedicine services for other Alaskan communities. Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage is part of the

Providence Health & Services Providence Health & Services (since 2016: Providence St. Joseph Health) is a not-for-profit, Catholic health care system operating multiple hospitals across seven states, with headquarters in Renton, Washington. The health system includes 51 ho ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

, which oversees several other Alaska medical centers and long-term care facilities, and part of the Providence St. Joseph Health System. With more than 5,000 employees, Providence Health & Services Alaska is the largest private employer in Alaska, as of 2022.

Accreditation

Providence Alaska Medical Center is accredited through the Joint Commission of Hospital Accreditation. The hospital holds national accreditation for its radiation oncology department through the

American College of Radiology The American College of Radiology (ACR), founded in 1923, is a professional medical society representing nearly 40,000 diagnostic radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists. ...

. The sleep disorder center is accredited through the

American Academy of Sleep Medicine The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) is a United States professional society for the medical subspecialty of sleep medicine which includes disorders of circadian rhythms. It was established in 1975. The organization's functions include ...

Expansion

In 2010, the hospital began a $150.3-million expansion project including the NICU, Prenatal and Mother-Baby Units, surgery, pharmacy, sterile processing, and materials management. In January 2018, an expansion added a 13-bed Children's Emergency Care center to the Emergency Department. Providence Alaska Medical Center has transitioned to an

Electronic Health Record An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of patient and population electronically stored health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared throu ...

(EHR) system.

COVID-19 crisis

In August 2021, Andrea Caballero, an infectious disease doctor who works at Providence Hospital, said they were "on the verge of a hospital system collapse" due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

pandemic. There were staff shortages, lack of equipment and supplies, and too many unvaccinated people among the population for the hospitals to effectively treat. There were no mask or vaccine mandates in Anchorage, at the time; it was a policy of the recently elected mayor who successfully ran on a platform of no mask or vaccine mandates.

References

External links

Official
{{authority control 1937 establishments in Alaska 1962 in Alaska Buildings and structures in Anchorage, Alaska Hospitals established in 1937 Hospitals in Alaska Pre-statehood history of Alaska

Trauma centers