As COVID-19 continues its relentless spread, two 杏吧原创 alumnae鈥擠r. Jill Moses, MD鈥�91, and Annie Moon, MSN鈥�03鈥攁re helping lead the fight in the , the country鈥檚 largest Native American reservation. The nation is home to more than 250,000 people and encompasses 27,000 square miles across Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
Moses is public health director at , a part of the Indian Health Service. Moon leads the CSU鈥檚 Department of School and Health Services, providing clinical services in five high schools and three middle schools.
Since early 2020, they鈥檝e been focused on little besides the coronavirus. In the pandemic鈥檚 initial surge, the Navajo Nation led the country with its per capita infection rate, exceeding even hard-hit New York and New Jersey.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been in a state of emergency since spring,鈥� Moses says. 鈥淥ur numbers were really low in August and September. Things just exploded again when the weather turned.鈥�
Moses first came to the Navajo Nation as a student on a rotation. She returned in 1996 after residencies in pediatrics and preventive medicine at Johns Hopkins University, where she also earned a master鈥檚 in public health.
She and Moon met at one of the nation鈥檚 satellite clinics more than 20 years ago. 鈥淪he became our first pediatric case manager,鈥� Moses says of Moon, who is a registered member of the Navajo Nation. 鈥淲e worked together, our kids were the same ages鈥攚e鈥檝e gone through a lot together.鈥�
When Moon talked about earning a master of science in nursing, it was Moses who suggested 杏吧原创鈥檚 program. Moon packed up her two sons and moved to Nashville for the intensive year of study.
鈥淟ooking back, I can鈥檛 believe I did that,鈥� Moon says. 鈥淚 was a single mom, and people normally don鈥檛 go off the reservation and do things like that.鈥� Moon also earned a master of public health and a public health training certificate in American Indian health from Johns Hopkins in 2015.
Working together, Moon and Moses developed a highly successful HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination drive for the Navajo Nation, which earned them recognition in 2018 from the Association of American Cancer Institutes.
Moon won the 鈥檚 first Alma Gault Alumni Award for Public Service in 2018, and she has received the Navajo Area Director鈥檚 Award for Outstanding Healthcare Provider. In 2011, Moses received the Distinguished Achievement Award from her undergraduate alma mater, Carleton College.
As they respond to the pandemic, both women are coordinating efforts among the many health agencies and organizations serving the Navajo Nation. 鈥淲e have a lot of competing priorities that we have to juggle,鈥� Moses says.
Moon believes their efforts will be more effective during this winter surge. 鈥淲e are more prepared this time,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e know what to expect and what to do.鈥�
Moon feels the pandemic on a personal level. She lives just 200 yards from her parents, but her visits have been few鈥攁nd masked. She hasn鈥檛 lost hope, however.
鈥淣avajos have been through a lot in our history, and we鈥檝e always managed to survive,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e are resilient. I鈥檓 just focused on getting through this wave, people getting the vaccines and moving forward.鈥�
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