Anne

Zink

Anne grew up in Colorado and moved through her training from College in Philadelphia to Medical School at Stanford and then Residency at University at Utah. As a mountaineering guide she had fallen in love with Alaska and after residency in Emergency Medicine became lucky enough to call Alaska home. Not only does she love people and the place, but also the medicine. Alaska is a small, isolated microcosm on the US health care where certain forces like the distance, lack of referral centers, and community involvement help create better systems of care that are directly related to bedside care. She quickly became involved in helping improve systems of care as the medical director of her group, then in her hospital and with state and federal legislation, including state legislation to improve care coordination, opioid addiction treatment option, integration between private systems and the VA, DOD, and IHS facilities and more. Dr. Zink had the honor of becoming the State of Alaska Chief Medical Officer in July 2019. In all the work she does, she strives to create work environments, policies, and practices that are data-driven, foster collaboration and build system efficiencies that put patients first.