IFHS

The board promoted Dawn Johnson, the former clinical services director, to chief operating officer and interim CEO.

The Unalaska City Council approved all funding requests from local nonprofits at a city council meeting April 23.

Iliuliuk Family and Health Services (IFHS) requested just over a million dollars from the city to supplement emergency care expenses. The $1,047,441.46 request came at a city council meeting Feb. 27. The council ultimately directed the city manager to create a proposal to fund the request.

In this episode of “Island Interviews,” Dr. Murray Buttner — Unalaska’s Iliuliuk Family and Health Services medical director and a former family physician for the clinic — discusses the event and why it’s important to get to know your health care provider.

Ash clouds from two volcanoes have disrupted air travel in the Aleutians, including Unalaska, preventing some patients from reaching medical care in Anchorage.

Unalaska’s health clinic has been awarded funding to expand its facility on the island. The U.S. Department of Treasury will give Iliuliuk Family and Health Services $20 million to expand and renovate its building, the clinic announced Thursday.

Three top healthcare providers at Unalaska’s clinic recently left the island, but they assure patients that high-quality care will continue during the transition.

Iliuliuk Family and Health Services has extended its weekday closing hours to 9 p.m. For years, the island’s largest healthcare provider has closed at 6 p.m., which limited service options for community members. Clinic staff say new hours will give community members greater access to services.

Unalaska’s Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic has a new interim chief operator. Jennifer Heller is a certified nurse midwife. She’s been working in healthcare for more than two decades and has been employed at IFHS as a nurse midwife and quality improvement coordinator since 2019. Now, she’s the second interim CEO the island’s clinic has hired since December.

Five people were medevaced out of Unalaska Sunday on a Coast Guard C130. “In truth, it wasn't that unique of a situation, except the weather compounded what we deal with on a daily basis,” said Jennifer Heller, interim director of operations and a certified nurse midwife at the island’s Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic.