Tsehootsooi Medical Center

A wonderful thing happened this morning! I received my first response to all the emailed cover letters and resumes I have submitted through the IHS, the USAJobs.gov site, and to all the Navajo Area Unit nurse recruiters.  A recruiter from Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation, contacted me.  Mr. Flowers began his reply so encouragingly and wrote extensively about what awaits me there:

Good Morning Ms. Lindberg,

Thank you for your resume and interest in Nursing opportunities on the Navajo Reservation. I am the nurse recruiter at Tsehootsooi Medical Center (formerly Ft. Defiance Indian Hospital), and I’m glad to assist you in any manner possible to find a position that fits you well and will allow you to maximize your talents and skills, whether or not that position is at TMC or one of the other facilities on the Navajo Reservation. I think you will find that Nursing practice on the Reservation is both challenging and very rewarding. I also think the experience you gain here will really help prepare you for a career as a CNM . . .

"Below is some general information about our facility and community. I have also attached a profile of our OB Unit FYI. I will be in training all day today, but would like to speak with you about the opportunities we have here and at the other facilities on the Reservation. What is a good time for me to call you? I look forward to speaking with you and working with you in the future."

Window Rock is 30 miles WNW of Gallup.  Much to think about.  Government Housing is provided:

"Tsehootsooi Medical Center, formerly Ft. Defiance Indian Hospital, is a fairly new facility (opened in AUG 2002). We serve an active user population of 43,000 people spread over a 2,500 square mile area (called a service unit) surrounding Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation. We have 48 in-patient beds with about a 90% occupancy rate, and average 220,000 out-patient visits per year. Ft Defiance is located in a rural setting about 30 miles WNW of Gallup NM along the AZ/NM border. Life here is relaxed and peaceful, yet we are within a 30 minute drive to the conveniences of Gallup, a town of 20,000. We are located at 6,800 ft elevation and have pleasant weather year round with low humidity and summer temperatures averaging in the upper 80’s/mid 50’s and winter temps of low 40’s/teens. We do get snow and occasionally sub-zero temperatures in the winter. Most of our rain falls in the “monsoon season” from mid-July until mid-September, and gives us comfortable weather during the hottest part of the summer.

We have housing available on the hospital compound, so most employees walk to work. Like the hospital, the housing is new and modern. Our new housing has 1 or 2 car garages, gas heat and air conditioning, dishwasher, gas stove, refrigerator/freezer, and washer/dryer hookups. They also come with a patio and fenced in back yard. We have a very close community of employees and families who work, live, and socialize together. There are lots of outdoor activities locally or within a 2-3 hour drive including hiking, biking, hunting, fishing and water sports, snow skiing, etc.

We have a 12 bed OB/L&D in-patient unit with 5 LDR beds and average 40-50 deliveries per month (see attached department profile). I can also email photos of our hospital and housing if you’d like."


We will see . . . we will see.  I promptly completed the online application for that specific facility and for the one in Sanders, AZ. Tomorrow I will be having a phone interview with Mr. Flowers. Exciting.

"To provide superior and compassionate healthcare to our community by

raising the level of health, Hozho, and quality of life."

http://fdihb.org/