AZ INMED Program Honored for Improving Native Health Care
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson’s Arizona Indians into Medicine program (AZ INMED) has received the National Indian Health Board 2021 Area Impact Award, presented virtually at October’s Outstanding Service Award ceremony. The Area Impact Award honored AZ INMED for improving American Indian/Alaska Native health care in the Tucson region.
“Thank you to the National Indian Health Board for this award. We believe the future of Native health is to increase the number of Native healers in our community,” said Agnes Attakai, MPA, AZ INMED program coordinator. “Native health professionals are needed to fill the shortages and deliver care in Arizona and the rest of the country, particularly in rural and remote reservation communities.”
Staff members of The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson’s Arizona Indians into Medicine program (AZ INMED) include (top row from left) Tashina Machain, outreach coordinator, Josephine Gin Morgan, academic advisor senior, Agnes Attakai, program coordinator, (bottom row from left) Alberta A. Arviso, learning support specialist, and Teshia G. Arambula Solomon, PhD, associate professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine.
Working with students in kindergarten through pre-med programs, AZ INMED recruits, supports and encourages Native students to enter and succeed in health professions through outreach events, experiential learning opportunities, internships and preparatory programs. It provides tutoring, specialized coursework, individualized advising, workshops and fall-spring talking circles to UArizona Health Sciences students in medicine, pharmacy and public health in Tucson and Phoenix.
University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins, MD, sent an email to congratulate the AZ INMED team on the award. “It is vital we recruit and retain Native American applicants to medical school and public health, and I am glad to see AZ INMED recognized in this way,” he wrote. “I hope this award furthers the impact of this invaluable program. Thank you for your service and dedication to the University of Arizona and to our Native American students.”
AZ INMED develops collaborative partnerships with tribal nations, K-12 school districts, community-tribal colleges, universities and health professional schools, and is a program of the Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health in the Department of Family and Community Medicine.
“An overwhelming challenge for many Native pre-health students is navigating a large university while balancing personal, academic, family and community responsibilities. AZ INMED addresses the critical components that assure Native students pursuing careers in the health professions can succeed,” said Josephine Gin Morgan, MEd, AZ INMED coordinator for the pre-health professions advising program and associate director of academic advising for the A Center. “Dr. Teshia Solomon, Agnes Attakai and Tashina Machain combine their expertise and passion in successfully supporting Native students. The AZ INMED program works!”
The National Indian Health Board represents tribal governments that receive health care directly from the Indian Health Service (IHS) or operate their own health care delivery systems through contracting and compacting. Since 1972, it has advised Congress, IHS federal agencies, and private foundations on health care issues of American Indians and Alaska Natives.