Southcentral Foundation (SCF) is an Alaska Native health care organization established by Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI) in 1982 to improve the health and social conditions of Alaska Native and American Indian people, enhance culture, and empower individuals and families to take charge of their lives.
Alaska Native and American Indian people own, manage, direct, design, and drive Southcentral Foundation.
Under the leadership of President and CEO Katherine Gottlieb, Southcentral Foundation has distinguished itself as one of Alaska’s largest federally recognized tribal health organizations, serving the needs of Alaska Native and American Indian people populating a geographical area of 107,413 square miles (278,200 km2).
A wide range of medical services and human services are provided to Alaska Native and American Indian people living in the Municipality of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
In 1998, SCF assumed ownership and management of the primary care program of the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, and in January 1999, began jointly managing and operating ANMC, along with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
With this transition, Alaska became the first state in the nation to have all of its health facilities for Native Americans managed by Native organizations.
SCF’s Nuka System of Care, established in the late 1990s in south central Alaska, serves a population of around 65,000 people.
It combines integrated health and social care services with a broader approach to improving family and community wellbeing across the population – for example, through initiatives using education, training and community engagement to tackle domestic violence, abuse and neglect.
Southcentral Foundation’s Nuka System of Care has achieved reductions in hospital activity, high performance in the US healthcare effectiveness data and high levels of user satisfaction.