Navajo & Zuni Nations impact
Our work in Navajo & Zuni Nations
Deepening our decade-long partnership with Indigenous communities in the Southwest United States, HEAL developed a program focused on training and retaining nurses to improve healthcare access and outcomes for Indigenous communities. Across the United States, Indigenous communities carry a profound legacy of leadership and an unwavering commitment to the collective well-being of their people. Within the Navajo and Zuni Nations, this dedication is embodied by a skilled healthcare workforce. Despite navigating severe systemic inequities and critical provider shortages—including a one-third vacancy rate in nursing positions within the Navajo Nation—these local leaders demonstrate remarkable resilience. Their commitment to patient care serves as a powerful testament to the community’s strength in confronting ongoing structural neglect amid this scarcity, which overworks nurses and undermines patient outcomes.
Led by Indigenous healthcare workers and HEAL alumni, the HEAL Southwest Leadership Program integrates Indigenous ways of knowing, relational leadership practices, and community accountability into leadership development. The program currently supports nurses across nine medical centers in and surrounding Navajo and Zuni Nations. The curriculum is grounded in the Diné framework of the Four Directions, which supports the balance across: individual leadership growth, community responsibility, systems awareness, and sustained wellbeing. By investing in nurses already rooted in their communities, the program strengthens retention, builds leadership capacity, and supports long-term improvements in health outcomes.
Our impact
119
HEAL Fellows have served resource-denied communities in Navajo and Zuni Nations since 2015
10
Years of partnership with health centers and organizations serving Navajo and Zuni Nations
82%
Of Southwest Leadership Fellows identify as Indigenous
impact stories
Long-Term Impact: Transforming Indigenous Healthcare
HEAL’s current work in Navajo and Zuni Nations with the Southwest Leadership Program seeks to lay the foundation for systemic improvements in health outcomes in Indigenous communities. Fellows have already identified ways the program has improved their work in healthcare, including:
Leadership & Systems Change
Following HEAL trainings, fellows are practicing more relationship leadership and accountability, which is preparing them to take on influential roles at their health center with confidence, advance culturally responsive care, and improve their healthcare systems.
Cultural Integration
Fellows have gained the tools and confidence to elevate and implement Indigenous frameworks in clinical settings, such as using Navajo philosophies of balance and harmony (hózhó) to guide holistic care and relational accountability (k’é). Studies show that providing culturally concordant care improves patient outcomes.
Building Community and Belonging at Work
By implementing tools like community guidelines and healing-centered care through the program, fellows are creating safer spaces for healthcare workers to voice concerns and address workplace disparities, fostering a strong sense of belonging and well-being that has been shown to increase healthcare worker retention and decrease burnout.
Patient-Centered Health Equity
With the tools and support they’ve gained through HEAL, fellows have improved patient care at their health centers through initiatives such as improving patient health literacy and strategically matching patient social needs with nursing staff expertise.
Sustainability Through Education
The longitudinal curriculum of the Southwest Leadership Program is inspiring fellows to pursue advanced degrees (MPH, MSN, DNP), developing a long-term pathway of Indigenous healthcare leadership within their communities.
Navajo & Zuni Nation videos
Latest Navajo & Zuni Nation News
Southwest Leadership Quarterly Newsletter
Highlighting HEAL Southwest Leadership Program news, including a holistic approach to care that centers Hózhó, the Navajo philosophy of balance, harmony, and right relationships.
Blog Post: HEAL’s First Indigenous-Led Nursing Cohort
How Indigenous-Led nurse leaders are weaving culture, care, and community into strengthening health in the Southwest US.
Social Media: Integrated Program Kick-Off Training
Southwest, California, and Global HEAL Fellows came together to kick off their HEAL Programs by learning new leadership models, gaining advocacy tools, and building community.