TUBA CITY, Ariz. — Former Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation CEO Lynette Bonar, who retired in mid-January, has been invited by the White House to sit alongside First Lady Jill Biden in the viewing box for President Biden’s State of the Union tonight at 9 pm (eastern time).
Ms. Bonar will be among 20 special guests which includes rock star Bono, from the band U2.
The White House’s press release states, “Each of these individuals were invited by the White House because they personify issues or themes to be addressed by the President in his speech, or they embody the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies at work for the American people. The Second Gentleman, Mr. Douglas Emhoff, will also join the First Lady in the viewing box.”
According to the release, Ms. Bonar will be recognized for her pioneering work in establishing the first cancer center on the Navajo Nation in Tuba City, Ariz.
In an email to TCRHCC staff this afternoon, CEO Joette Walters said, “I am excited to share with you that our former CEO Ms. Lynette Bonar will be an honored guest of Dr. Biden at the State of the Union address,” she said. “Ms. Bonar moved ‘mountains’ to improve care for our community— her invitation to the White House is a recognition well deserved.”
The White House press release states:
“Bonar is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She was a sergeant and former medic in the U.S. Army. She spent 19 years providing clinical care as a Registered Nurse and Executive at the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation, including eight years as Chief Executive Officer. In 2019, Dr. Biden joined Bonar to celebrate the opening of the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation’s Specialty Care Center which was the first cancer center opened on a Native American reservation, bringing cancer treatment and other oncology services to the Navajo, Hopi, and San Juan Southern Paiute tribal members who previously had to travel great distances to receive care.”
Ms. Bonar said, “I am truly honored to have been the CEO of a Title V Tribal PL 93-638 Indian Self Determination Health Care Organization, which allowed TCRHCC to extend lives and/or improve the quality of life of our oncology patients.”
The State of the Union can be watched live here.
Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation is a 73-bed regional referral medical center in Tuba City, Arizona on the Navajo Reservation. TCHRCC service area is 6,000 square miles and covers the western region of the Navajo and Hopi Nation. TCRHCC has received the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and accreditation, the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.
