Alaskas Workforce Health:

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Alaskas Workforce Health Crucial to
Future Prosperity
Wed. November 15, Noon 3PM Anchorage
Legislative Info Office 716 W. 4th Ave. Room 220
Participate via local LIOs.
Call 1-800-922-3875 Light
lunch served in Anchorage.
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Agenda

• Alaskas Workforce Health Crucial to Future
  Prosperity
• November 15, 2006
• Introductions/Opening Remarks by Co-Chairs
  Rep.
  Sharon Cissna and Senator Donny Olson
• Definition of a Healthy Workforce - Rep.
  Sharon Cissna
• Personal and Organizational Experiences in
  Workforce Health Movement Towards a Healthy
  Workforce Report from each panelist Wayne
  Stevens, Director, Alaska Chamber of
  Commerce Carl Rose, Director, Association of
  Alaska School Boards Mike Andrews, Director,
  Alaska Works Representative from Alaska
  Tribal Health Consortium Joey Merrick,
  Laborers Union Local 341 Duane Heyman,
  Commonwealth Norths Health Roundtable William
  Butler, Assoc. Director, Cooperative Extension
  Service, UAF Suzanne McCarthy, Coordinator,
  Prince William Sound Community College
• Obstacles Complicating Alaskas Ability to Have a
  Health Workforce - Panel members
• Suggestions for Addressing Obstacles - Panel
  members and Others in attendance or on-line
• The Future Prioritizing Promising
  Solutions/Suggestions for Developing a Forum

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• A Healthy Workforce Defined
• Majority of adult members in a community ready
  and capable to work
• Able to support their own and
• their familys needs
• Provide a surplus contribution to
• their communitys needs
• Physically, emotionally, and
• socially ready to learn and work.
• Economic product may be service, industrial,
  technological or subsistence.

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(No Transcript)
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• Panel (3 min. each)
• Opening statements
• Personal/Institutional Experience
• Q In what way do they see movement toward a
  healthy workforce?

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Wayne Stevens Director, Alaska Chamber of
Commerce
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Alaska Chamber of Commerce Mission, Vision
ValuesMission To drive positive change for
Alaska's business environment and to improve our
member organizations by providing leadership,
advocacy, connectivity and support.Vision The
Voice of Alaska Business
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• Chamber of Commerce Values
• Responsive. Listen and react to our stakeholders
  
• Focused. Advocate for issues until measurable
  results are achieved
• Aware. Follow issues
• Fair. Represent all Alaska businesses
• Communicators. Communicate effectively and
  continuously
• Connected. Create and strengthen relationships
  with leaders and decision makers
• Committed. Do what we say we will do
• Leader. Considered the leader for Alaska
  business issues

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Carl Rose Executive Director Alaska
Association of School Boards
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Mike Andrews Director, Alaska Works
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Alaska Works Partnership (AWP) is a non-profit
organization formed in 1997 to increase local
hire in construction.
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AWPOur trainees build affordable housing,
health facilities, schools, pipelines
StatewideConstruction work requires a worker be
healthy physically and mentally fitConstruction
is a rewarding but demanding field of work
Employers want people ready for work with an
ability to learn on the job
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• AWP is very effective in lifting persons out of
  poverty into high pay jobs
• Job training programs lead to better health
  physical mental
• Occupational safety and health training
  protects workers and the public
• Jobs raise income and provide health care
  benefits for families
• Youth have access to career and technical paths
  to good jobs

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Joey Merrick Laborers International Union Local
341
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Duane Heyman Commonwealth Norths Health
Roundtable
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ROUNDTABLE PRIORITIES PAIRo      
avings o       Prevention o       Access
o       Information o       Responsibility
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• WE HAVE REAL AND IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS
•         Health care costs are rising at
  unsustainable double digit rates
•         Alaska spends 5.3 billion per year, or
  8,000 per person, on health care, compared to
  6,000 for the rest of the U.S.
•         85,000 Alaskans have no health care
  coverageif living together, they would be the
  second largest city in Alaska.
•         Many more are under-insured.
•         Alaska medical and surgical procedures
  are 18 higher than Outside dental procedures
  are 38 higher

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William Butler Associate Director Cooperative
Extension Service UAF
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• Cooperative Extension Service Mission
• Interpret and extend relevant research-based
• knowledge in an understandable and usable
• form and to encourage the application of this
• knowledge to solve the problems and meet the
• challenges that face the people of Alaska and,
  to
• bring the concerns of the community back to the
• university.

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Cooperative Extension Service Outreach
educational delivery system supported by a
partnership between the United States Department
of Agriculture and the University of Alaska
Fairbanks and College of Rural and Community
Development.
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Cooperative Extension Service
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Suzanne McCarthy Coordinator Copper Basin
Extension Prince William Sound Community College
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Obstacles complicating Alaskas ability to have a
fully healthy workforce
Future Alaska Highway
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Discussion Promising Solutions for a Healthy
Alaska Workforce
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Recommendations for the Future
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Co-Chairs, Sen. Donny Olson and Rep. Sharon
Cissna thank you for participating in the
Legislative Health Caucus. A copy of this
PowerPoint can be found on our website
www.akdemocrats.cissna.org The audio file of
todays program can be found at
http//www.ktoo.org/gavel/audio.cfm. (type in the
date of this Caucus). For more information,
please call 1-800-922-3785
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Notes from the program