BETHEL -- A federal agency on Thursday announced a $165 million loan for a major hospital project in this Western Alaska hub city.
The loan from the Department of Agriculture will come through a rural development program that supports "essential community facilities" including hospitals. It's the largest loan ever given through that program, said Jim Nordlund, the Alaska director for USDA rural development.
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. project is critically needed, he said. The loan will provide long-term financing to support a new primary care clinic and renovation of the existing hospital, which opened in 1981. YKHC is the main health care provider and runs the only hospital in an area the size of Oregon.
Dan Winkelman, YKHC president and chief executive, said the corporation is working with 50 communities to ensure the facility incorporates Yup'ik, Cup'ik and Athabascan cultures. The health corporation still needs other approvals as well, he said. It is working on a joint venture agreement with the Indian Health Service. That agreement is essential to the project, Winkelman said.
Congress last month passed legislation to transfer 23 acres of federal land to the health corporation for the project.