It has all the makings of a Hollywood script. A young doctor in between residencies packs up his wife and three-month-old, leaves the hustle and bustle of New York City and heads out west. Their destination, native American tribal lands in Arizona. There, he becomes the physician to the local rodeo, where injuries from bull-riding and horse-bucking are quite a departure from those in a NYC emergency room.
This unique experience is something SpecialtyCare CEO Sam Weinstein, MD, MBA, took on before starting his cardiac surgical residency. He had six months to do something a little different. But he still wanted to engage with patients. He heard about a great opportunity with the Indian Health Service, the agency that provides federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. He applied and was accepted to serve as a general surgeon in Chinle, AZ, home to the Navajo nation.
The Navajo Nation covers more than 27,000 square miles across three states: Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.
“It was really a fascinating experience,” Weinstein said, remembering how the community embraced his family, inviting them to birthday parties, weddings, and other celebrations.
“The community was very accepting. They taught us about their language and their proud heritage. They feel very strongly about their contributions to our shared culture. And you really get a sense for how the environment is critical to their religious practices. Tribal lands are the most spectacular, beautiful locations you’ve ever seen.”
“It’s a proud, giving community despite facing many challenges,” he said. For a population just over 180,000, 43 percent live below poverty level. Weinstein said probably 80 percent of the community in which he stayed, a population less than 5,000, didn’t have running water. Weinstein’s wife, a social advocate, found that many battled depression and needed help, so she began to work with groups as well, to build an awareness about psychiatric illness.
