What is Operation Arctic Care?
Operation Arctic Care is a joint military training exercise facilitated by the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) program. The purpose of this training exercise is to increase deployment readiness while simultaneously providing key medical services to the communities which host the exercise. This exercise will see approximately 150 uniformed service members traveling throughout the Maniilaq Service Area to serve each community. Operation Arctic Care last took place in the Maniilaq Service Area in 2018.
What services will be offered?
Medical and Dental services:
All eleven village communities in the Maniilaq Service Area will have access to routine medical and dental services provided out of the village health clinics. These services exclude Kotzebue, which will continue to be served by Maniilaq Health Center for all medical and dental needs.
Veterinary services:
Ten village communities plus Kotzebue will have access to basic veterinary services provided out of the school or other facilities. This service excludes Point Hope, which will continue to be served by the North Slope Borough Public Health Veterinary Clinic.
Colonoscopy screening:
Maniilaq Health Center in Kotzebue will host a colonoscopy clinic for all eligible patients region-wide.
For details on location of services per community, please contact your local health clinic.
Who is eligible for services?
Everyone is eligible for medical, dental, and veterinary services. All these services provided by Arctic Care providers are free of charge to beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries alike. Services provided by Maniilaq providers and services provided beyond the village health clinics will be billed normally. The colonoscopy clinic in Kotzebue will prioritize seeing eligible and waitlisted patients. This specialty service is provided by Maniilaq and will be billed as usual to patients and insurance providers.
How do I sign up?
For anyone interested in receiving services in the eleven village communities, contact your local health clinic and ask to be put on the “Operation Arctic Care sign-up sheet“. You’ll need to provide your name, a contact number, type of service requested (medical, dental, or veterinary) and number of people and/or pets to be seen. For the colonoscopy clinic, call the MHC Specialty Clinic at (907) 442-7454 to verify eligibility and book a time.
What is the runtime of this exercise?
Operation Arctic Care will begin on Saturday, April 5th and end on Saturday, April 19th. Services will begin being provided on Monday and/or Tuesday, April 7th – 8th and continue until Thursday, April 17th. A schedule of services for each village community can be found on the Maniilaq Association Facebook page.
What if I have more questions?
More information on Operation Arctic Care can be found on the Maniilaq Association Facebook page. For additional questions and comments, call the Arctic Care Questions Hotline at (907) 442-7900.