DEI Special Edition Spring / Summer 2024
One of Dr. Begay ’ s primary objectives is to elevate healthcare for Native Ameri- cans. She currently serves as Senior Officer at the HEAL (Health, Equity, Action, and Leadership) Initiative, a global health fellowship program. Dr. Begay ’ s path to this point in her career seems to have been destined. She grew up on a Nav- ajo reservation. Her mother worked for Dr. Taylor McKenzie, who in 1958 be- came the first Navajo physician. When she was approximately 12 years old, she accompanied Dr. McKenzie as he visited Fort Defiance Indian Hospital. It was during this trip where, for the first time, she witnessed a physician speaking to a Navajo patient in his native language. That was a defining moment in her life that inspired her to persevere, even when others thought her adult life had tak- en her in a different direction. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona while raising three children. Afterwards she went onward and received a medical
degree from the Universi- ty of North Dakota School of Medicine through the Indians into Medicine
(INMED) program. She completed her residency in Family Medicine at the Uni- versity of Arizona and worked for the Indian Health Service for over 21 years.
The HEAL Initiative goes beyond your typical global health fellowship program. This program not only takes rotating physician fellows but also site fellows who are already working with the tribe. These site fellows include pharmacists, nurs- es, dieticians, health coaches, respiratory therapists and sometimes those outside of direct patient care like a Navajo civil engineer whose work is critical in health facilities management. The site fellows go through the global health curriculum
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