Maniilaq Association

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Maniilaq Association provides health and social services to residents of Northwest Alaska. A non-profit corporation, Maniilaq Association represents twelve federally-recognized tribes located in Northwest Alaska. The Association manages social and health services for about 6,500 people within the Northwest Arctic Borough and the village of Pt.Hope. Maniilaq also coordinates tribal and traditional assistance programs, and environmental and subsistence protection services. With approximately 550 in its workforce, Maniilaq Association is also the largest employer.

Maniilaq Association History

In 1966, the Northwest Alaska Native Association (NANA) was founded to help settle the native’s land claims issues. This non-profit organization soon became an advocate for all native issues, including health, housing, and political rights.

With the passing of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, a for-profit native corporation was established and named the NANA Regional Corporation. To avoid confusion, the non-profit Northwest Alaska Native Association was renamed the Mauneluk Association, later changed to the more traditional name, Maniilaq.

Maniilaq Medical Center

The Kotzebue Area Health Corporation (KAHC) was formed in 1973. This corporation was to care for the health needs, and it soon became apparent that Maniilaq and KAHC were performing similar functions. In 1975, the two organizations merged.

Maniilaq began the construction of a new health facility began in 1980 to house and consolidate it’s rapidly expanding public service programs. By the time it was completed in 1981, the Association had grown from a handful of programs and staff to a multi-million dollar organization.

Maniilaq assumed management of the Indian Health Service (IHS) hospital programs and services and renamed it the Maniilaq Medical Center. Today the Maniilaq Association manages the 80,000 square foot, $42 million hospital in Kotzebue, as well as the clinics in all the villages. The organization also added to the facility a Long Term Care wing to offer nursing home services to the elders.

The Maniilaq Health Center is a state-of-the art, top quality primary care medical facility. The nearest health care facility that offers comparable service is over 600 miles away.

It houses an emergency room, with local and Medevac support for accident/trauma patients, as well as an Ambulatory Care clinic, Dental and Eye Care Clinics, a Pharmacy, a Specialty Clinic, and an Inpatient wing with 24 beds for recovering patients.

Native Villages Served

Ambler
Buckland
Deering
Kiana
Kivalina
Kobuk
Kotzebue
Noatak
Noorvik
Point Hope
Selawik
Shungnak