With cases of COVID-19 announced in Fairbanks, there are a lot of questions and concerns from the community. Foundation Health Partners (FHP) hopes to ease those questions with educational videos and the launch of a COVID-19 hotline.

On March 15, 2020 FHP posted five short videos to Facebook. The ‘Medical Minutes’ feature an FHP provider addressing common COVID-19 concerns, such as, hand hygiene, social distancing, and what to do if you are sick.

“The videos have been successful,” said FHP Quality Medical Director Dr. Angelique Ramirez. “The community wants to hear from local providers that they trust.”

Another effort to answer the public’s question is the COVID-19 hotline. Foundation Health Partners launched the hotline at a press conference announcing the first confirmed COVID-19 cases in Fairbanks.

The hotline was established in response to an overwhelming number of calls to the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (FMH) Emergency Department regarding COVID-19.

“We want to be able to answer the community’s questions and provide quality care for our patients,” said Emergency Department physician Dr. Mark Simon. “The hotline helps us do both.”

Since the hotline’s launch, there have been hundreds of calls in less than 48 hours.

“If people have general questions, there are great resources out there,” said COO Clint Brooks. “We ask that if individuals are not experiencing symptoms, they use those resources first to allow those that are ill to get through to the hotline.”

The COVID-19 hotline number is 907-458-2888 and is reserved for medical questions. If you have general questions, call the state information hotline at 2-1-1. Other resources available are:

• Alaska Department of Health & Social Services: coronavirus.alaska.gov
• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: www.cdc.gov
• World Health Organization: www.who.int 
• FHP’s medical minutes here