‘ The intensity of rural medicine is amazing’ Mia Lozada, MD ’08, bridges modern medicine, cultural tradition in her Indian Health Service practice PHOTO BY JENNIE WEI, MD, MPH
Mia Lozada, MD ’08, at Horseshoe Bend near Page, Arizona. During her off-duty hours, the Indian Health Service physician enjoys hiking and camping.
BY MOLLY WOULFE
26
F
or the Navajo, spiritual connections to nature, family and tradition converge with self-identity. Mia Lozada, MD ’08, strikes a balance between Western medicine and ancient customs in her practice among the Navajo, one of the largest Native American populations in the United States. The Pritzker graduate doubles as a general internist and quality improvement director for internal medicine at the Gallup Indian Medical Center (GIMC) in Gallup, New Mexico. The hospital is located near the border of the Navajo reservation that stretches into Arizona and Utah.
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO MEDICINE AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DIVISION
Nearly 300,000 Navajos live — up to a third without running water or electricity — on the vast reservation. The 99-bed hospital, the largest dedicated to the tribe, admits 5,800 patients and records 250,000 outpatient visits annually. The Indian Health Service (IHS) employs Lozada and her physiciancolleagues to provide free medical care. “It’s very exciting,” said Lozada, 34, who arrived at Gallup in 2012 after completing her residency at the University of California, San Francisco. “I’m knee-deep in it, living in the Navajo community and getting to know specific cultures and traditions.”