Welcome to Alaska’s
Department of Health (DOH)
As of July 1, 2022 DOH is the entity that includes:
As a result of Governor Dunleavy’s Executive Order 121, which became law March 19, 2022, the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) was restructured into two separate departments: Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Family and Community Services (DFCS). All of the divisions that existed in DHSS will exist and be named the same in the two new departments.
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About the Department of Health
Promoting the health, well-being, and self-sufficiency of Alaskans.
The Department of Health (DOH) will have oversight of health care services, payment, eligibility determinations and payments of public assistance program benefits, and public health. The Divisions of Behavioral Health, Health Care Services, and Senior and Disabilities Services provide regulatory oversight, claims processing, facility licensing, and enforcement of Medicaid and state regulations. DOH will also actively engage with stakeholders to find opportunities for innovation within Medicaid and to improve health outcomes for all Alaskans.
Commissioner Crum wanted a logo that recognizes Alaska’s history and the hard work of staff that continuously serve the DOH mission of promoting the health, well-being, and self-sufficiency of Alaskans.
He came up with the idea of a dog sled team because it hearkens back to Alaska’s internationally known story of the Nome serum run – where people and communities came together to serve and protect others regardless of the weather or geographic difficulty. It also is a reminder of the start of Public Health Nursing with the first professional nurse arriving in Bethel in 1893, and traveling around the state on foot, boat or dogsled. And finally, the dogsled team is in honor of all the staff, past and present at DHSS and now DOH that live to serve.
Sled dogs are famous for their willingness and wanting to just run and race to goals together, and that really personifies the people that work at DOH – they work to manage programs, payments and processes that take care of their fellow Alaskans. They do it not for glory or recognition, but for service of the other.