Providence St. Elias Specialty Hospital Accredited for Medical Rehab
Rehabilitation staff at Providence St. Elias Speciality Hospital help Alaskans recovering from severe strokes, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, and other complex medical traumas and conditions.
Providence Health & Services Alaska
Alaska now has an accredited inpatient medical rehabilitation program. Providence St. Elias Specialty Hospital has been recognized by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) International for its level of service.
Excellence in Care
“This accreditation is a testimony to the level of excellence and outstanding performance the care team provides for Alaskans,” says hospital administrator Jessica Oswald. “For many Alaskans recovering from severe strokes, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, and other complex medical traumas and conditions, the ability to access the right level of specialty care at the right time and in the right setting is crucial to a patient’s ability to regain function and overall recovery.”
CARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process and continuous improvement services that center on enhancing the lives of the persons served. The accrediting body establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.
This is the first accreditation that CARF has given to Providence St. Elias, making it the only CARF-accredited medical inpatient rehabilitation program in Alaska. The accreditation extends through June 30, 2026.
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January 2026
“Over the past several years, St. Elias has seen nearly a 400 percent increase in access to care for Alaskans with these newly available intensive therapy and recovery services,” Oswald says. “Our team of nearly a dozen specialty trained physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians and our therapies and nursing teams are unduplicated, with extensive certifications, training, and expertise tailored to helping patients get back to living their lives.”
Providence St. Elias Specialty Hospital, located near International Airport Road and C Street in midtown Anchorage, opened in 2006 with the goal of helping critically ill Alaskans receive world-class specialty recovery care close to home. In 2020, St. Elias opened its inpatient rehabilitation facility and began pursuing CARF accreditation, which requires compliance with nearly 2,000 requirements.
An organization receiving a three-year accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.
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