Alaska medical board cancels meetings as board seats remain unfilled

Iris Samuels, Anchorage Daily News on Nov 23, 2025

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The Alaska State Medical Board canceled its meeting Friday for the second consecutive month because it lacked the quorum to operate.

The board is tasked with adopting regulations governing the practice of medicine in Alaska, and takes disciplinary action against physicians accused of medical malpractice.

But it has been hampered for months as Gov. Mike Dunleavy has delayed filling three of the board's eight seats.

Dunleavy's spokesperson Jeff Turner said Friday that one of the seats had been filled on Thursday and two other vacancies on the board would be filled "soon." The board's existing members and its administrator were not familiar with the recent appointment, and it wasn't listed on the governor's website as of Sunday morning.

Under state law, the board must consist of five physicians, one physician assistant and two public members, all appointed by the governor and subject to confirmation by the Legislature. But three of the seats have been vacant for several months.

The medical board in recent months has focused some of its attention on politicized topics, voting to restrict access to gender-affirming care for transgender minors, and asking lawmakers to restrict access to abortion.

State law requires at least five board members to conduct business. So when one of the five expected board members called in sick on Friday, the board had to cancel its full-day agenda, including consideration of the governor's effort to shrink the number of regulations on the books.

Board member Dr. David Barnes said the cancellation underscored the importance of filling the vacant seats on the board as soon as possible. Members of the board "have all been pushing" Dunleavy to fill the seats, he said.

Turner did not answer questions about the specific vacancies on the board.

Physician assistant Sarah Bigelow Hood ended her term on the board in March. Dunleavy appointed Samantha Smith to replace her, but in an unusual vote, lawmakers in May voted unanimously to reject her appointment, citing her lack of relevant expertise.

In the more than six months that have transpired since Smith was rejected, at least eight physician assistants have applied for the seat, said Jennifer Fayette, a member of the Alaska Academy of Physician Associates. None had been selected.

Fayette herself has applied for the seat and encouraged other physician assistants to do the same. Because Alaska statutes have few references to physician assistants, they are primarily governed by regulations authored by the state medical board, making the seat particularly important, she said.

"I don't know if the governor just doesn't think any of them are good candidates, but it seems that it's just sitting empty," said Fayette.

Dunleavy's head of boards and commissions, Jordan Shilling, did not respond to emailed questions about what has caused the long delays in filling vacancies on the board.

Lydia Mielke, a public member of the board, ended her term in March. Her seat has not been filled in the more than eight months since. The only requirement for the seat is that the candidate have "no direct financial interest in the health care industry."

Former board chair Dr. Eric Nimmo left the board in January, creating a vacancy in a seat reserved for a physician. That seat remained vacant for seven months until Dr. Ryan McDonough, a Palmer cardiologist, was appointed to the board in August. McDonough was absent from both the October and November meetings.

Former board member Dr. Matt Heilala resigned in August, citing his decision to run for governor, creating another vacancy in a seat reserved for a physician.

Turner said Friday that Dunleavy had appointed Dr. Michael McNamara, an Anchorage orthopedic surgeon, to fill the seat Thursday, a day before the board's quarterly meeting. McNamara did not attend the Friday meeting, and Turner did not respond to questions about why McNamara was absent. Turner also did not respond to a request for a copy of McNamara's appointment letter.

Natalie Norberg, executive administrator for the medical board, said in an email Friday afternoon that she has "not been informed of an appointment to the State Medical Board and look(s) forward to welcoming any new member the Governor may have selected."

State statute requires the five licensed physicians on the board to reside in "as many separate geographical areas of the state as possible." All physicians currently serving on the board reside in either Anchorage, Wasilla or Palmer.

Turner did not answer questions on the limited geographic representation on the board.

Diversity "helps that board understand how other people are practicing medicine within the state and how we continue to have access to care," said Fayette.

The state medical board is one of dozens that Dunleavy is responsible for filling, with many seats remaining unfilled for weeks at a time.