In response to concerns over the coronavirus, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Bethel has suspended all future non-essential out-of-state business travel for its employees. That’s according to YKHC spokesperson Mitchell Forbes, who says that the measure is just a precaution to protect employees’ health. Forbes says that the Native health corporation will continually evaluate its decision, and that travel will still continue for providers and patients.
YKHC is one of the region’s biggest employers, and serves 58 communities across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. YKHC is keeping up with updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and meeting with Alaska state officials, along with other hospitals in the state, to share information and coordinate testing and care of patients that could be infected with the coronavirus.
YKHC is also running drills, and meeting internally on a weekly basis to plan its response to the virus if it emerges at a village clinic or the regional hospital in Bethel.