National Nurses Week, May 6th – 12th, is a time to honor and recognize nurses for the heart and dedication they bring to their patients in hospitals, healthcare facilities, and clinics all across the country. Only a year has passed since the coronavirus pandemic occurred and since then countless nurses, both men and women, stepped up the call to action to provide round the clock care to millions of patients, who were struck ill with the deadly virus. They administered not only treatments and care, but peace and comfort to those not able to have family members with them either in their last days or until they recovered and were able to go home.

Native Americans for Community Action (NACA) is using this week to highlight two of their on-staff nurses at their Family Health Clinic. One of their nurses, Natalie Metz, a nurse practitioner, said,

“Being a nurse means spending time with patients and understanding what about their health is important to them. It means believing that patients are experts in their own health and finding ways to support them in their journey.”

NACA’s Family Health Center Highlights Two On-staff Nurses

Natalie Metz, DNP, APRN, FNP-C – has been on staff with NACA since 2018, but has been a registered nurse since 2011 as a certified family nurse practitioner, advanced practice registered nurse, and doctor of nursing practice. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Northern Arizona University, and her Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice from Frontier Nursing University. Ms. Metz first started working in the medical field as a patient care tech at a hospital, mentioning that she, “was able to see each medical specialty and how they interacted with patients. I chose nursing because it allowed me to combine medical and scientific knowledge with patient centered holistic care.” She then completed her nurse practitioner internship with NACA, stating that when she graduated she, “was lucky enough to transition right into practice at NACA and continue to see the same patients I met during school.” NACA’s Family Health Clinic offers a wide range of health services to the community, which is what drew Ms. Metz to the non-profit organization in the first place. Her areas of focus are family medicine with an emphasis on ages five and up, chronic disease management, wellness across the lifespan, LGBTQ+, and sexual health including STI treatment and prevention.

Ms. Metz commented, “I feel confident that my patients will receive quality medical care, as well as mental and physical health support to maintain wellness.” Her passion is to provide medical care to underserved populations and understand the individual needs of her patients.

During Ms. Metz’s free time, she enjoys spending time outside, particularly at the beach, doing all kinds of activities. She also likes relaxing with her wife, making fermented foods and playing fantasy football.

Verity Quiroz RN, MSN – has been on staff with NACA since 2020, but has been a registered nurse since 2004 with her specialty as a primary care nurse. She received her Associates Degree of Nursing from Cochise Community College and her Master of Science in Nursing from Walden University. Ms. Quiroz was drawn to NACA due in large part to her native heritage and when asked why she became a nurse, she said that, “I am a third generation nurse, my grandmother, my mother, and two of my aunts are in the nursing field. I was drawn to the occupation from the start.” Since graduating, she has worked in numerous medical positions starting from medical surgical, medical telemetry, overflow, nephrology, employee health, infection control to outpatient pediatrics, which include plastic surgery, orthopedics, cleft lip and palate, scoliosis, and cerebral palsy, just to name a few. She added that, “Healthcare can be difficult to navigate, (but) I am driven to advocate for patients and their healthcare needs.” Her passion is caring for underserved populations such as pediatrics and geriatrics.

During Ms. Quiroz’s free time, she loves fitness and workouts regularly, and enjoys going camping and hiking in the great outdoors with her husband and their four children, who keep them busy with soccer and gymnastics. She also helps her husband at his ranch on the Navajo Nation reservation and they all like to travel as often as they can.

NACA’s Family Health Clinic

The nurses at NACA’s Family Health Clinic are more than just nurses, but are here to ensure you’re well taken care of and get the health check-ups and medications necessary to keep you living and living life to the fullest. Ms. Quiroz ended with this comment that,

“Nursing is not just medical care. It is whole body, mind, and spirit care. We are often friends, confidants, counselors, caregivers, attendants, nannies, and nurturers. Nursing is compassion, advocacy, reliability, responsibility, and it is 100% what we want to do.”

If you need medical care, our clinic is here with many services to meet your needs. From acute and chronic illness care, physicals, immunizations, STD Testing, Diabetes Management, Pap and Breast Exams, Family Planning, to Well-Child checks, and WIC (up to age 5). We pride ourselves in focusing on Native American health care, while offering medical attention to the entire Flagstaff community, with a whole person in mind to get them the medical help they need. We are committed to providing compassionate, patient sensitive, and culturally sensitive clinic staff, like Ms. Metz and Ms. Quiroz, to guarantee the best healthcare for our patients. For your convenience, we also accept most private insurances as well as Medicare and Medicaid, and we do provide services for visitors, who plan to self-pay.

To schedule an appointment and start your healthcare journey in the right direction, call our Family Health Clinic at (928) 773-1245 or email fhwc@nacainc.org.

To learn more about NACA or how you can get involved with our organization, please contact us today.