Trip planning
Medical care
Hospitals and clinics, drugstores and altitude
By Leon Unruh / Alaska.com
Alaska's biggest hospitals are in Anchorage, but there are also hospitals and clinics in most other towns on and off the road system.
There is a well-established ambulance system (road and air) for handling emergencies. Alaska physicians and nurses are trained to handle any problem that might be faced elsewhere.
Drugstores and discount stores are found in the larger cities.
Dialysis is available in Anchorage but not along the cruise-ship routes of the Inside Passage.
Oxygen tanks may be filled up in Alaska's larger towns. People expecting to fill up in outlying towns should call the local clinic to be sure oxygen will be available for visitors' tanks and at what price.
People who cannot go far above sea level will not need to worry much about the altitude of Alaska's highway or rail routes.
Most of the cities and roads are near sea level. The highest passes on main highways are Eureka Summit, 3,322 feet on the Glenn Highway (1); Isabel Pass, 3,280 feet on the Richardson Highway (4); Broad Pass, 2,409 feet on the Parks Highway (3); and Turnagain Pass, 988 feet on the Kenai Peninsula's Seward Highway (1). The highest point on the Denali Park Road is Highway Pass, 3,980 feet.
The Alaska Railroad's highest point is 2,363 feet (at Summit in the Alaska Range), and the White Pass and Yukon Route tops out at 2,885 feet at White Pass.
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