Sue Decatur, RN, Chief Executive Nurse of Navajo Nation Hospital, wants you to visit her 66 bed state-of-the-art facility in Chenley, AZ. If you're a nurse, she wants you to apply for a job. If you're a Native American nurse, Decatur knows you're in demand but wants you to consider Navajo Nation Hospital because she's proud of the work they do.

Decatur and her administrative staff chat informally about their hospital and their needs. "Don't tell me you want to help the Navajo and expect me to give you a job," Decatur said. This implies the Navajo need their pity, and she'll tell you in a straightforward manner that this isn't what they're about; Navajo patients don't need pity; they need care that is designed to meet their specific health care needs. Decatur zeros in on some of those needs. "Many of the Navajo have picked up the health habits of Anglos and we see the results of this: diabetes, gall bladder disease, diseases that come with fast food and sedentary lifestyles." This is in addition to the health problems that plague a population suffering from a history of discrimination by those same Anglos.

Decatur estimates that of the 100 floor RNs employed by Navajo Nation Hospital, 20 are Native American and these are primarily Navajo. "We work with Northern Arizona University School of Nursing in Flagstaff," Decatur said. She hopes to recruit several Navajo nurses from their graduating class this year. As it goes with the nation, so it goes with Navajo Nation Hospital. Nurse recruitment in a nursing shortage is difficult at best; recruiting nurses who understand the needs of this population presents even more of a challenge.

"We need nurses who have a greater understanding of the Navajo people, particularly their language," Decatur said. "We rely heavily on interpreters and because we're in an isolated area, we use a lot of traveling nurses." The hospital utilizes many Native American nurse aides to translate and make the needs of the patients known. "The older patients almost never speak English. Many of the younger ones speak our language. We need nurses who speak their language."

The hospital, a federal facility, treats Navajo, Zuni and Hopi - and the occasional Anglo in an emergency. The Navajo Nation is taking over its own health care in January 2002 in a move that is reflective of a national trend - Native Americans taking over the responsibility for their own health care. Navajo Nation Hospital combines state-of-the-art technology with traditional Navajo healing practices. The hospital's campus incorporates an octagonal shaped building called a Hogan used for ceremonial healing rituals. Medicine men work side by side with physicians and nurses and some of the RNs on staff are healers. Patients are encouraged to invite their own medicine men to the hospital. Traditional medicines are part of the treatment plan.

"I love it here. It's home. It's an adventure and a trans-cultural experience," Decatur said.