UCSF’s HEAL (Health, Equity, Action and Leadership) Fellowship aims to train health professionals partner with underserved communities both in the US and abroad.
There are two types of HEAL fellows: Rotating Fellows and Site Fellows. Over two years, our rotating fellows work at both Natividad and our international partner site, Companeros en Salud, in Chiapas, Mexico. Site fellows are health professionals selected by Natividad who engage with the local community over their two year fellowship. All three receive Global Health Training and participate in a cohort community of HEAL fellows across all sites who work and learn together.
For more information about the HEAL Fellowship, please visit: https://healinitiative.org
HEAL 2021-2023 Rotating Fellow: Dalia De la Cruz
Dalia was born in Salinas. As the daughter of Mexican farm working immigrants, she set out from an early age to seek out a vocation that emphasized service to others. Upon completing high school, she started working as a Certified Nursing Assistant and quickly found a passion for improving the health of others, especially the farm working community in which came from.
She pursued additional education and obtained her LVN in 2009. She has worked at Natividad Hospital for 13 years, first as a CNA and for that last 12 years as an LVN in a primary care clinic, at Natividad Medical Group. She enjoys all aspects of her job but finds most joy educating patients about their health and how to improve it. She was a key member of the hospital team who provided farmworkers with education on Covid-19 in Spanish. Among her accomplishments she is most proud to be the mother of her two daughters who she hopes to inspire to pursue their dreams. They are her pride and joy, as well as her continuing inspiration to pursue further education. She intends to return to school and get her BSN in the next two years.
