About Us
Our Team
Founder & Managing Director of Native American Healthcare Solutions
During her 40-year career in healthcare including 18 years as CEO in IHS and Tribal Programs, Vida has learned that medicine is ultimately all about people. Patients always come first. Every patient, in every encounter, deserves exceptional care and respect: this is the foundation of the work we do at Native American Healthcare Solutions and NativeArc.
In 1992, after 18 years of nursing, Vida was appointed CEO of the Winslow Indian Health Center in Arizona. During her nine-year tenure, Vida established the first Indian Traditional Medicine Program in the Indian Health Services and successfully integrated complementary medicine in an allopathic clinical setting. She also implemented and acquired the first mobile medical van in the Navajo Area Indian Health Service.
Vida’s revolutionary work won her the prestigious 1999 American Hospital Association Federal Sector Special Achievement Award for Innovative Leadership.
In 2006, Vida took over as the Turn-Around Specialist/CEO at a tribal health care facility in California on the verge of losing its funding. Within one year, under her astute and innovative leadership, the employee, staff and tribal issues were resolved, and systems operations were restructured. The turn-around was so extraordinary the California Rural Indian Health Board gave the facility “Clinic of the Year Award,” the first award they had received in twenty-six years of operations. In 2011, as the CEO of a CA north coast healthcare organization, Vida engaged the Board of Directors and staff to improve the patient experience, which was reflected in being accredited for the first time by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory HealthCare.
During her more recent 4 years as the Chief Executive Officer at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, Vida engaged her staff to improve the patient experience, using multiple leadership development and communication strategies. Within a two-year period GIMC’s HCAHPS scores increased in 3 domains above the 90thpercentile rate of change (faster than 90% of all hospitals across the nation) One domain improved in the 75th-89thpercentile rate of change and Two domains improved at the 50th-70thpercentile rate of change.
As an expert in women’s workplace dynamics, organizational transitions, and visionary leadership, Vida Khow has addressed conferences, associations, and government agencies across the country and Germany. Being a successful Navajo woman, she naturally combines the wisdom of her native roots with her vast administrative experience.
Sarah Kelly Denson
Sarah is a dedicated Nurse where excellent, high-quality patient care is of utmost priority.
She received her BSN from Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, NC and is a Level
1 trauma certified Nurse. She is currently working in the Emergency Room at the
University of CO Hospital at Memorial Central Level 1 Trauma Center. Sarah is a U.S.
Army Veteran with 8 years as a Nuclear Biological Warfare Specialist, which included two tours in Iraq. Sarah is the recipient of the Daisy Award for extraordinary nurses. Sarah is proud of her Navajo lineage, of being a mother and wife and as a Nurse saving countless lives.
Our Services
We are commited to you!
Our commitment is to work closely with you as true partners to improve health care services within tribal communities. Through executive-level guidance, our team will establish strategies and continuous success in health care operations. By investing our knowledge and passion into operations, the result is high-performing operations that will transform your organization into providers and employers of choice and achieve a patient experience that generate a lifetime loyalty and value for your patients.