Ms. Nizigiyimana directs the Valleywise refugee center, which provides a unique model that employs 18 cultural health navigators hired from their respective refugee communities, ensuring a seamless transition for Arizona’s refugee populations as they navigate the healthcare system. She founded the center in 2008 to provide a culturally grounded, patient-centered medical home for the growing refugee community. RWHC is the only center of its kind in the nation, providing obstetric and gynecological care to thousands of refugee women. Ms. Nizigiyimana designed a multifaceted program emphasizing intensive case management, continuity of care and linguistically-appropriate health navigation, with additional services such as educational classes, counseling and community outreach. These efforts have made the RWHC a safe haven for many refugee women seeking medical care for themselves and their families. In 2023, the center saw 16,000 refugee patients, delivered over 3,700 babies, installed over 1,200 car seats for new mothers and reached 800 patients through health literacy courses. Ms. Nizigiyimana, along with her husband and two children, are the first four refugees in Arizona from Burundi, a small war-torn country in central Africa. They resettled in 1998 after fleeing the Civil War. Since then, she has worked to advocate for and successfully integrate other refugees into the U.S.
