Rural Alaska Community Action Program Partners with Visit Healthcare

Vulnerable individuals and families can receive accessible COVID-19 tests and vaccines through a partnership between Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL CAP) and Visit Healthcare.

As the number of COVID-19 cases among those experiencing homelessness in Anchorage rose last summer, RurAL CAP’s Supportive Housing Director Rob Marx searched for resources to keep our tenants and community safe. He was soon put in contact with Visit Healthcare. Since then, Visit has administered weekly tests at all five of RurAL CAP’s Supportive Housing facilities and has coordinated with RurAL CAP’s Outreach Specialists to test unsheltered individuals in Anchorage.

Visit has been in the healthcare business for more than thirty years helping to care for patients with tens of thousands of medical providers. Beginning in early 2020, seeing a need for more COVID-19 testing options across the United States, Visit pivoted its resources and efforts to solely concentrate on the dispersion of COVID-19 testing. In Anchorage, they have worked with underserved populations at locations like retirement homes, Bean’s Café, and homeless shelters.

Given the success of regular testing, RurAL CAP coordinated with Visit when vaccines became more widely available. Now, Supportive Housing tenants at RurAL CAP facilities have had the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to twenty-eight unsheltered individuals.

“We are so grateful for our partnership with Visit,” says Marx. “Their services have tremendously impacted our COVID-19 response, helping keep our clients and community safe.”

Visit representative Barbara Brena says, “RurAL CAP’s staff have been integral to our success. They have helped us reach and engage with various vulnerable populations. We are truly grateful for the coordination that has made this possible.”

As the world continues to recover from the impact of COVID-19, National Community Action Agencies like RurAL CAP will continue to offer critical support to those affected by the pandemic.