• Alaska Native People Shaping Health Care

    Southcentral Foundation’s Nuka System of Health, a model for health care redesign.

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Southcentral Foundation’s Nuka System of Care is recognized as one of the world’s leading models of health care redesign and is a recipient of the 2011 and 2017 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. “Nuka” is an Alaska Native word that means strong, giant structures and living things. It is also the name given to Southcentral Foundation’s whole health care system, which provides medical, dental, behavioral, traditional and health care support services to more than 70,000 Alaska Native and American Indian people.

Model of Whole System Transformation

Health outcome and satisfaction improvements after system redesign.

44%

DECREASE IN ER VISITS

63%

DECREASE IN HOSPITAL DISCHARGES

98%

CUSTOMER-OWNER SATISFACTION

75th - 90th

PERCENTILE IN MANY HEDIS MEASURES

90%

EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION

OpportunitiesServicesResources

OPPORTUNITIES

SCF offers a variety of learning opportunities based on over 25 years of operating the nationally and internationally recognized Nuka System of Care.

  • Attend our Annual Nuka System of Care Conference at SCF’s campus in Anchorage, or our virtual Winter Conference.
  • Attend one of the trainings we offer, such as Core Concepts (the communication and relationship-building training SCF offers its providers to support them in caring for customer-owners), Cultural Humility, or Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor training.
  • Or get support for your team with one of SCF’s team-based opportunities, such as our Leadership Team Assessment and Workshop, our Team Dynamic Workshop, or a site visit to SCF’s campus customized based on your specific needs.
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SERVICES

SCF offers a wide range of services:

  • For executives and leaders, request a team assessment and workshop, a workforce development consultation, or consult directly with SCF’s leaders on the Nuka System of Care approach to leadership.
  • For clinical professionals, learn directly from SCF’s subject matter experts on a variety of topics including integrated primary care teams, integrated behavioral health, trauma-informed care, and more.
  • For improvement professionals, consult with SCF’s dedicated improvement specialists to learn about customer and community engagement, data and information management, and approaches to improvement and strategic planning.
  • For students, get information on opportunities for scholarships, internships, short-term observation, and clinical experiences.
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RESOURCES

SCF’s website offers many resources to learn about our Nuka System of Care. These include articles written about us, the Nuka Webinar Series, our podcast, white papers about our various programs and services, our document library, our in-depth playbooks, and more.

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What’s New


Check here for all things new! For the full calendar of our events or trainings, click here.

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What others say about us

Don Berwick

I think it’s the leading example of health care redesign in the nation, maybe the world.

Soma Stout

Nuka represents the future of health and health care in the United States and is a model that all health systems should look to for inspiration and guidance.

Margaret Hannah

Scotland prides itself in its inventiveness and quality of health care, but it is also open to learning from the best in the world. There is no question in my view; the Nuka Model of Care is world class.

Russell Phillips

I view Nuka as our true north. Nuka’s focus on working with patients and communities to create and promote health in both mind and body serves as a model to us all. Nuka inspired the Center for Primary Care at Harvard Medical School to expand our own focus from health care to health.

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