Alaska’s behavioral health system is fragmented and stressed, with significant gaps across the continuum of care that leads to patients in crisis being held in emergency departments or non-psychiatric units, or discharged without referrals to the treatment they need. 

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​While this is a serious and urgent problem across the country, Alaska’s overall lack of behavioral health services across the continuum of care— from crisis stabilization as an alternative to the ED, to inpatient psychiatric treatment beds, to community based (outpatient) behavioral health services for non-emergency care and ongoing maintenance to avoid another crisis—compounds this problem significantly and has resulted in increasing strain on emergency departments in particular.

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AHHA is leading advocacy efforts, convening partners and stakeholders to strengthen collective initiatives. We have developed an action plan focused on the strategies below to strengthen Alaska's services.

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