The Nuka System of Care
A complete system redesign — built by Alaska Native people, for Alaska Native people. Studied on six continents. Proven to deliver better outcomes at lower costs.
A complete reimagining of how healthcare is owned, delivered, and experienced.
Nuka — the Alaska Native word meaning "strong, large living things" — is both the name and the philosophy. Starting in 1999, Southcentral Foundation redesigned every aspect of its health system from the ground up, transferring ownership and decision-making to the Alaska Native and American Indian community itself.
The result is a model that has been independently validated to dramatically reduce emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and specialist referrals — while simultaneously improving customer-owner satisfaction, employee retention, and health outcomes across every metric measured.
Explore the 4 Core Principles ➔
A model studied worldwide.
6
Continents where Nuka has been studied
50+
Countries that have sent delegations to SCF
2×
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner
65,000
Customer-owners in active long-term care
Five Operating Pillars
Customer-Owner Model
Alaska Native people are not patients — they are customer-owners. This fundamental shift in language reflects a shift in power. Customer-owners co-design their care, co-govern the organization, and co-create the clinical standards that serve their families and communities.
Integrated Care Teams
Each family is assigned a dedicated integrated care team: a primary care provider, a registered nurse case manager, a clinical pharmacist, a behavioral health consultant, and a traditional healing coordinator. All disciplines share the same chart, the same hallway, and the same goal.
Same-Day Access
Southcentral Foundation pioneered same-day appointment access — eliminating multi-week waits that historically drove Alaska Native people away from primary care. Walk in today and see your care team today. No referral, no delay.
Traditional & Western Medicine
Traditional tribal doctors, botanical medicine coordinators, and cultural healers sit alongside MDs, pharmacists, and behavioral health consultants. This is not an 'alternative medicine' program — it is a fully integrated healing system that honors both ancestral wisdom and clinical science equally.
Continuous Quality Improvement
SCF applies Malcolm Baldrige performance excellence standards across every department. Outcomes data is collected, reviewed, and acted on collaboratively by customer-owners and clinical staff — creating a continuously improving, self-correcting health system that gets better every year.
Nuqali Learning Center
Train your team in relationship-based care. In-person and virtual immersion programs.
Consulting & Events
Bring Southcentral Foundation expertise to your organization or health system.
Training Opportunities
Open enrollment programs, workshops, and certification pathways.