Guest Column | National Doctors’ Day – Passion drives Tuba City doctors

From Tuba City Regional Health Care Corps.

TUBA CITY

National Doctors’ Day is celebrated on March 30 across the United States. The day is held to recognize the contributions of physicians to individual lives and communities.

Ahead of National Doctors’ Day, Dr. Jennifer Whitehair, a recipient of the 2022 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists health-care award, and other TCRHCC doctors reflected on being a doctor.

During the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Whitehair, a board-certified and award-winning Navajo obstetrician and gynecologist for the past 16 years at Tuba City Regional Health Care Corp., thought the unthinkable.

“It was a scary time,” said Whitehair, reflecting on the past two years. “We never signed up for something we knew would kill us.”

Yet her fear stemmed from the possibility of infecting her family, which consisted of her husband, two daughters, and father who live in Flagstaff.

“There were days I felt like a war deserter,” she said. “It was just that something in the back of your mind that you would never do and all the other doctors knew that and stayed.

“We were hoping that the vaccine would be developed early so we wouldn’t have to continue putting ourselves at much risk,” she said.

During the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Whitehair did more than just see patients, she also coordinated with off-reservation organizations to deliver masks, hand sanitizer, food, cleaning products and other supplies to the community.

This desire to help began while growing up in Southern California where her father was raised by missionaries at age 16. The passion to return to the Navajo Reservation and help her people is what led her to the field of medicine.

After getting a bachelor’s degree in microbiology professions from Northern Arizona University, a medical degree from the University of South Dakota, and OB/GYN residency at the University of Arizona, she stayed at Tuba City after completing her four-year Indian Health Service scholarship requirement.

“It was my first job and it will be my last,” she said. “The patient population is what draws me and keeps me where I am at.”

Helping people

That sentiment of helping people with their health care resonated with pediatrician Dr. William Orman. For the past 32 years, Orman has worked with TCRHCC and grown very close to the community.

“I spent a month here as a second-year pediatric resident from John Hopkins University Medical School,” said Orman, who graduated from the University of Virginia Medical School.

“I liked the patients and families and pediatricians, and really enjoyed working with both the Navajo and Hopi people,” he said. “I also really enjoyed the surrounding areas and the opportunities to be outside and go hiking.”

Orman enjoys seeing in the clinic kids from birth through their high school graduation.

“The best thing about being a doctor for me is that at the end of each day, I can look back and feel that I have helped people out,” he said. “Sick kids, worried parents – every day is different, and I like that.

“I enjoy using the clinical and diagnostic skills I have developed over the years,” he said, “and I enjoy the chance to communicate and explain things to kids and their parents in ways they can understand.”

Trust was built over time and something Orman values a great deal.

“It is a good feeling” he said. “I enjoy the feeling of being trusted by worried parents and I do my best to earn their trust.

“I especially enjoy working with the IHS, because I know that my patients will not receive a bill for seeing me and I do not have to worry about anyone not being able to afford the medications I prescribe,” he said.

Interacting with patients, families

Dr. Amanda Burrage, a pediatrician, formerly worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after getting a master’s degree from Harvard University’s School of Public Health.

“I like interacting with patients and families and being engrained in the community,” she said. “I enjoy talking with kids and trying to understand what is going on in their lives.

“I am privileged to work with excellent colleagues,” she said, “both the pediatric and new public health departments are full of strong and dedicated individuals.”

Burrage is fully aware of her and her colleagues’ impact upon the communities they serve.

“Medicine is a very rewarding career and there are lots of ways to help with a background in medicine,” she said. “As highlighted by pandemic, there is a need for public health and thankfully we now have a public health department at TCRHCC.

“While the training to be a doctor is long,” she said, “every day and week is different, and we continue to learn and respond to needs of the community.”

Longest-serving doctors

TCRHCC has 91 doctors and some of them have served the longest-serving on the Navajo Reservation. According to the HR department, since 2002, our doctors’ average stay is 6.2 years.

The TCRHCC community sees our doctors’ core value of selflessness and drive to protect the communities we serve through an accessible, quality, and culturally sensitive health care system.

“Medical staff, thank you all so much for bringing your knowledge and compassion to TCRHCC,” said CEO Lynette Bonar.

“We have all been through some difficult times together and our community couldn’t have had a better physician staff to get us where we are today,” she said. “Happy Doctors’ Day!”

On Doctors’ Day, TCRHCC extends warm wishes on behalf of our hospital. We all are proud to have such inspiring doctors in our team.

---