Lana is a nurse and educator, who uses her own immigration story to build trust with other new arrivals to discuss the stigmatized topic of tuberculosis (TB). For World TB Day on March 24, we’re proud to celebrate her and the incredible work of our TB Program.

Hi, Lana! What work do you do at Public Health?

I’m a registered nurse and I work as an educational specialist for Public Health’s Tuberculosis (TB) Clinic. I share awareness about TB, how to get tested, and treatment options. We educate the community because TB is very stigmatized.

I do this at health fairs, clinics, community events and community colleges. We’re working to reach people who are new arrivals to the country and come from countries where TB is more common. They may be infected with latent TB – a non-symptomatic, non-contagious version of the disease that could one day develop into active TB – and we want to encourage them to get a TB test.

A lot of people in the US don’t know much about TB. What do you wish they knew about this disease?

TB is a bacterial disease that spreads through the air. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, how smart you are or your job title. You can’t inherit TB from your parents or grandparents. You can’t get TB by sharing utensils or the same food.

When I start talking to people about TB, they say, “I’m not a prisoner. I’m not homeless. Why are you talking to me about this?”

People in congregate settings, like shelters and jails, are more likely to get TB because they’re living in close quarters with lots of people, not because they did something bad in the past. Anyone can get TB.

What’s something you’ve done recently at work that you’re proud of? 

I developed relationships with community colleges, particularly their classes for English-language learners. You can’t just come to a class and start talking about TB, because it’s so stigmatized that people don’t want to associate themselves with the disease.  

I cooperate with my bilingual colleagues from Public Health’s Community Navigator Program. This program connects individuals to essential health services and resources, particularly for marginalized communities. So, to build trust, we start with our personal stories as recent immigrants who are also from countries with high TB rates. I tell people, ‘I’m like you. I started my journey 12 years ago as an English language student, and now I’m a public health worker, sharing my story with you.’ I encourage them to keep studying, choose something they enjoy, and then, I say, ‘Let’s talk about TB a little bit.’

We started with one college and now we’ve extended to many community colleges, and they invite us back each year. I love getting to work with students and encourage them.

What’s a memorable moment you’ve had in your job?

I was presenting to a group of students at UW. Usually, students don’t like to share with us if they’ve had family members with TB or their own experiences with TB. But this student was like, ‘Oh, I had TB! I went to the Public Health TB Clinic, and my outreach worker there was George.’

And I said, ‘Oh, I know George, I work with George.’

So, the student shared his experience with the class. He wasn’t afraid to talk about his experience as a patient.

I’m sure he was afraid when he got his diagnosis, but he said talking to outreach workers, talking to case managers, nurses — they educated him, they calmed him down and reassured him everything will be fine. That’s why he wasn’t scared to share his experience.

Is there anyone who’s been an influence on your career path, like a personal hero or mentor?

Yes, I have a person who inspired me. When I had just moved here from Ukraine, my son was 9 at the time. He got sick and I took him to the doctor’s office, my first time doing so in the U.S.

Everything was so new. I didn’t know how insurance worked. Deductible? Premium? What do these mean?

A couple weeks after the visit I got this letter from the clinic. It was an explanation of benefits, but in my eyes it looked like a huge bill.

I went to the clinic and they had a lady who spoke Russian. She was very busy, but she found time to calm me down. She explained to me how insurance works in the U.S. She was very patient and kind to me. I was sitting on this chair in her little room and I was like, ‘What I really want one day is to be like her and help people.’ I was scared to death that I had a huge bill.

And now, that’s what I’m doing. For new arrivals, since they don’t always speak a lot of English and the healthcare system is very different, there can be lots of misunderstandings and mistrust. I share my message and my story and can be a bridge.

More information

For more information about Public Health’s work on TB, including TB rates locally, visit Public Health’s TB Program webpage.

Originally published March 26, 2026.