Gallup woman wins well-deserved advocate’s award

By Kevin Killough
Staff writer

GALLUP — Janie Lee Hall says she never saw it all coming. In February, she shared recognition with a number of health advocates as a Community Wellness Champion from the Albuquerque and Navajo Area Health Service. Then in October, she won the Distinguished Nurse of the Year award. And this past Friday, she was recognized by New Mexico Voices for Children at a gala in Albuquerque, honoring those who have dedicated their lives to New Mexico’s children.

“I had no idea I was going to win the awards,” Hall says. “It’s a real honor, but mainly, I just feel privileged to do the work that I do.”

Looking at her accomplishments, it’s no wonder that she’d be recognized for her efforts. She is involved in Project TRUST, a group working to develop culturally appropriate mental health services for Native American youth. She is co-founder of McKinley County Health Alliance in addition to being area director for the Special Olympics. These are just a few of her contributions. Before she was ever officially recognized, there was much appreciation from the community. A bulletin board in her office is painted with cards and notes of gratitude she has received, which are now joined by the awards hanging on the walls.

Before moving into a career in nursing and public health, she was an art major. Out of necessity, she began working as a health aid in a pediatrics floor at the University of Virginia Hospital.

“I needed a job,” she says.

But it was there that she found what she calls “her true calling,” and she was soon to enroll in a community college to get her associates in nursing. She doesn’t regret leaving behind the pursuit of an art career.

“You can create in all kinds of ways,” she explains with a smile. “And it is just a really good fit for me. I get to connect with people and use my compassion.”

She would later learn that her mother wanted her to be a nurse all along and was happy to see her choose that path. With a laugh, Hall says her mother “had the sense enough not to tell me (to be a nurse) and let me find my own way.”

As a public health nurse, she deals with the health of populations in what she calls an “upstream look.”

Health for Native American populations, she says, is greatly affected by “historical trauma.” The relocation, assimilation, and other aspects of their history of being victims of oppression continue to affect health. Suicide, depression, and alcoholism all must be examined with those factors considered, she explains.

“There’s an unfortunate sense of hopelessness in young Native Americans,” she says.

The suicide rates amongst Native American youth are perhaps the best indicator of that hopelessness.

According to the New Mexico Department of Health, 26 percent of Native American high school students in New Mexico report having made a suicide plan and 20.8 percent report having attempting suicide sometime in the past year. In New Mexico, the rate of suicide risk for Native American males between ages 15 and 24 years is twice the rate of white males.

Project TRUST is a response to this and many other health problems. The partnership between numerous behavioral health organizations seeks to provide a comprehensive literature review to determine evidence-based practices that are culturally competent for working with Native American Youth. The organization also holds advisory meetings with the community and provides recommendations to providers, policy makers, and potential funding resources. In this way, Hall says, the program can address the unique needs of this population.

“There are specific issues serving Native American health services,” Hall explains. “You can’t just focus on the child and the family. We’re about transforming systems in a way that promotes health on all these levels.”

While grateful for the recognition she’s received recently (and a bit surprised), she’s quick to acknowledge the many involved in the effort and credits herself with being more of an organizer.

“I don’t do anything alone. If I do anything well, it’s bringing people together,” she says.