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The state just started posting restaurant inspections online. The Juneau-area health inspector acknowledges there aren't many up yet for Juneau; her program has been understaffed for years.

Inspector Janice Johnson was hired to protect public health by inspecting restaurants. Plus schools, pools, tattoo parlors, piercing shops, barber shops, public showers and bathrooms, supermarkets, convenience stores, seafood processors whether floating or on land, and temporary food stalls at festivals. Johnson covers Juneau, Haines, Skagway, Pelican, Excursion Inlet, Gustavus, Hoonah and Elfin Cove.

"Until recently it was just myself," she said.

Turnover has been high. Johnson is the fourth to hold her job since 2005, and there was a six-month gap last year when the position was empty. She intends to stay.

"We're moving in the right direction," she said.

Unlike the rest of the country, Alaska's health inspections are handled at the state level - except in Anchorage, which has had a city health department since before statehood.

The state's food safety and sanitation program, part of the Department of Environmental Conservation, has a $3.9 million budget. That's roughly flat from seven years ago; it was cut after former Gov. Frank Murkowski took office.

In other places, general funding is often supplemented with permit fees. But Alaska doesn't charge for many of the permits it issues. High travel costs to the Bush also make health inspections more expensive here.

"We could do it," said Ron Klein, the program's manager, of upping the frequency of inspections to national standards. "But it would cost more money than the state can afford. At one point, $20 million was suggested for that level."

The staffing situation varies by town but is a problem statewide, Klein said.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards say high-risk facilities, such as full-service restaurants, should be inspected at least three times a year.

Klein says he'd be happy if he could ensure they were inspected once a year.

Last year, inspectors visited about 41 percent of their high-risk establishments.

Though there isn't any extra money, things are looking up for Johnson and Juneau.

Klein shuffled positions, and Johnson got a new inspector last month. That makes one trained inspector, one inspector-in-training, and one administrative person who also does lab tech work.

"I'm happy that we're not in a position where we're being asked to eliminate positions," Klein said. "If Alaskans and their elected representatives are interested in seeing more, we'll do what we can to do more."

For now, triage is essential.

One of the state's methods has been to emphasize food safety education so that food handlers could be more trustworthy.

In July, the state put its food inspections online, which allows people to make informed decisions about where to eat. Does "active rodent infestation" mean business as usual in mouse-friendly Juneau, or inspire fears of rodent-borne hantavirus? The reports also say whether restaurants responded to problems by fixing or ignoring them.

But Juneau restaurants have now gone for several years without routine inspections, which are also key. Hygiene tends to slide when the inspector doesn't show up often, Johnson said.

"When you're out there on a regular basis, they know who you are; they know who to come to with questions," she said. "You end up focusing more time on your problem facilities."

Johnson said schools and seafood processors have been among her top priorities.

Recently, she came back from Haines and Skagway, where she did 54 inspections in two weeks. She timed the inspections so she could also check on the food stalls at the Haines fair. The limited travel budget requires canny scheduling.

In 10 months, she hasn't been to all the facilities she's responsible for yet.

"Not even close," she said. "And I'm just dying to get out to the restaurants here in Juneau."

Elected officials decide policy. But from the trenches, Johnson wonders whether Juneau might someday consider getting its own health department, like most Lower 48 communities its size.

"It wouldn't compromise my job at all," she said.

It's unusual for a town of this size, especially one that gets so many "foreigners," as those familiar with foodborne-illness epidemiology call all visitors. During the summer, Juneau may see thousands of strangers come and go within a day.

"When we don't have good monitoring, thank God nothing epidemically has happened," Johnson said. "But think about the potential. I'm constantly reminding the operators, wash your hands."

• Contact reporter Kate Golden at 523-2276 or kate.golden@juneauempire.com.