Saturday, December 21, 2024
12/21/2024
Girdwood Health Clinic, Inc. Behavioral Health Service Expansion HRSA-24-078 131 Lindblad Avenue Phone: 907-783-1355 Girdwood, Alaska 99587-1130 www.girdwoodhealthclinic.org Alaska Congressional District Girdwood Health Clinic, Inc. (GHCI) is located in Girdwood, Alaska. Girdwood is a resort community with approximately 2,029 year-round residents along with thousands of visitors and seasonal workers during the tourist seasons and is the home of the Alyeska Ski Resort. There are two seasonal peaks that bring visitors to the area: The summer brings hikers, mountain bikers, parasailers and paragliders, and the winter brings downhill skiers, snowboarders and heli-skiers. GHCI’s service area includes Girdwood, the much smaller communities of Hope (population of 119) and Whittier (population 332), and the neighborhoods of Bird Creek and Indian (population 346). The communities of the service area are geographically located along Turnagain Arm. The “Arm” is a 45-mile-long narrow branch of water at the north end of Cook Inlet and the Gulf of Alaska characterized by some of the largest tidal changes in the United States. While Girdwood, Indian and Bird Creek are technically part of the Municipality of Anchorage, they are geographically separate rural communities. Hope and Whittier are more isolated communities branching off from the Seward Highway. GHCI became a HRSA §330 Community Health Center in 2015 offering medical services only. Behavioral health services were introduced in 2018 based on the needs identified. However, due to budget constraints behavioral health provider staffing is limited. GHCI seeks to expand its behavioral health program to better meet the needs of the communities served. The need for expanded behavioral health services is evident in our communities, in the region and throughout the state. GHCI is proposing to significantly expand its behavioral health program by hiring additional behavioral health providers, a case manager and community health workers. This program expansion will greatly increase access to affordable mental health and substance use disorder services in the Turnagain Arm area.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).