“The rewards of working in public health service are too numerous to be counted.”

CDR Matthew Daab is a family physician serving at the Tuba City Regional Healthcare Corporation in Tuba City, Arizona, part of the Navajo reservation. He is the Chief of Family Medicine, overseeing the family physicians and providers at Tuba City Regional Healthcare Corporation and its satellites.

In May 2002, CDR Daab commissioned as a physical therapist at Crownpoint Healthcare Facility where he served for five years. Little did he know that his career at Crownpoint Healthcare Facility service would begin a commitment to improving the health and well-being of Native Americans. CDR Daab was inspired by enthusiastic physicians at Crownpoint Healthcare Facility to apply to medical school. He was fortunate enough to be accepted into Uniformed Services University under the sponsorship of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps and Indian Health Service.

Fast forward, CDR Daab joined the medical staff at Tuba City Regional Healthcare Corporation in 2014 after completing his family medicine residency. He feels privileged to work with such an amazing staff of physicians, providers, and health care workers. CDR Daab is humbled to serve the Tuba City community with all its rich heritage yet so in need of improved health care. He finds it incredibly rewarding to help meet the needs of mostly Navajo and Hopi patients.

Deployed to a Remote Area Medical mission in Oklahoma in 2019, CDR Daab lead a primary care team serving hundreds of underserved patients in rural areas. He considers the experience to be invaluable and was thrilled to see many dedicated Public Health Service officers coming together to provide such vital, no-cost healthcare services to the community.

CDR Daab stepped into the role of Medical Director at Sacred Peaks Health Center, the largest Tuba City satellite clinic in Flagstaff, Arizona, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. He says the clinic was transformed nearly overnight from an outpatient primary care clinic to a COVID-19 triage, testing, and treatment facility.

With the Navajo Nation having been hit especially hard by COVID, Tuba City Regional Healthcare Corporation and its satellite clinics became a deployment destination. Public Health Service officers, as well as other uniformed services, were deployed to assist in COVID mitigation efforts in the Navajo Nation. CDR Daab attributes his fellow medical and support staff in mitigating the effects of COVID in the Navajo community, all while steadfastly maintained medical service to patients. CDR Daab has no regrets for long days spent working side-by-side with his dedicated staff at Tuba City.

CDR Daab has been humbled to work with so many dedicated Public Health Service officers while fulfilling the USPHS Commissioned Corps’ mission to protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of the Nation. He has been mentored by countless Public Health Service officers through the years and he enjoys paying it forward by being a mentor to junior Public Health Service officers.

He proudly claims that being a part of the USPHS Commissioned Corps, with such a strong legacy, is truly a privilege. He adds that for any person looking to join the USPHS Commissioned Corps or live a life of public service, he would suggest they embrace every challenge and be open to every opportunity. He continues, “The rewards of working in public health service are too numerous to be counted.”