Jacqueline Jim-Shorty, a Diné College Student (right), received her CHR certificate from (left to right): Dr. Ed Garrison, Diné College faculty; Ferlin Clark, president of Diné College, and Doug Taren, UA/MEZCOPH associate dean for academic affairs. (Credit: Ed McCombs, Diné College)
The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and Diné College, a Navajo tribal college, bestowed the first Certificates in Public Health to nine students during a recent Commencement ceremony at Diné College, in Tsaile, Ariz.
These certificates mark an academic achievement that has been more than seven years in the making for both colleges. The nine students who received the Certificate in Public Health are all Community Health Representatives for the Navajo Nation.
Navajo Tribal Community Health Representatives, or CHRs, are important health-care workers who live and work in the Navajo community and provide hands-on care and information on current medical topics and staying healthy to the tribe's citizens.
As full-time, paid employees of the Navajo Nation government, these CHRs help meet the need for increased basic health care and instruction in Native American homes and communities, greater involvement in their own tribes' health programs and more participation by Native Americans in identifying and solving their health problems.
CHRs are "widely recognized and widely appreciated personnel whose function is to get health-care knowledge and education out into the community," said Dr. Ed Garrison, a member of the faculty at Diné College since 1983.
Garrison's academic background includes degrees in biology, anthropology and public health – a combination he considers ideal for his work among the Navajo people. He also worked to establish the public health program in 1998 at Diné College.
CHRs serve as professional health personnel who stay up-to-date on public-health issues that will affect the Navajo. For example, with the current swine flu cases spreading, Garrison pointed out that the CHRs are out in the Navajo community explaining the situation and teaching them how to protect themselves.
"CHRs are the first-line responders," said Garrison, "whether it's swine flu, a weather emergency or a forest fire. They are the ones out there in the community, knowing what is going on and what people are thinking and feeling." CHRs function as the "eyes and ears of the federal government, tribal health system and Navajo Nation," educating the tribe about health-care issues and communicating health-care information from the tribal members to their government.
This new certification is a stepping stone for Community Health Representatives and shows that a CHR has taken the 12 college credits, which cover the basics of public health. Later, these college hours may be used as the foundation for a two-year associate in public health degree, or even a four-year bachelor of science in public health degree from Diné College.
For CHRs already employed in the Navajo tribe, the federal government contract for their scope of work now has specified that they must complete the certification within a reasonable amount of time.
Their studies ensure that all the CHRs have the same knowledge base, and that they all have successfully completed an overview of public health. These highly skilled community members and first responders now will have the opportunity to integrate all their health care experience into a public health perspective.
This particular joint certification program specifically is tailored to the public health needs and concerns of the Navajo Nation. Presenting this information in a culturally appropriate way is part of the CHRs' work in the community.
Lorraine M. Varela
520-626-5664