Monday, Aug. 25, 2008

Merced County woman leaves mark on migrant health

Aurora Garcia has dedicated life to care for farmworkers

By CAROL REITER
creiter@mercedsun-star.com

LIVINGSTON -- In a small concrete building on Main Street in Livingston, doctors and nurses save the lives of children, farmworkers and residents every day.

And in an office on the second floor, Aurora Garcia has been overseeing the community-run Livingston Medical Group for almost as long as the clinic has been around, working as its chief executive officer.

Because of her devotion and dedication, Garcia recently received a lifetime achievement award at the National Farmworkers Health Conference in Puerto Rico. The Lifetime Achievement in Migrant Health Award is presented to an outstanding person who has demonstrated long-term commitment to migrant health.

That description certainly fits Garcia. Born and raised in Livingston, the 74-year-old and her brother were born at home. She attended local schools, but didn't like them until a special teacher came into her life.

"Vera Schmoll was my role model," Garcia recalled. "She convinced me to stay in school, and she helped me get my first job."

That first job was with the predecessor of the Livingston clinic. She started working for local doctors in 1954, and when the community took over the clinic, she was asked to stay on by the people in the town.

Because Livingston is, in some ways, a poor town, with a lot of farm workers and people with no insurance, the clinic has been dedicated to the care of the impoverished from its beginning. In 1972, the clinic got a boost from the federal government when the first doctor of the National Health Service Corps came to town.

These doctors, right out of medical school, were sent to poor, rural areas to work off their government student loans. The physicians were paid by the federal government, and Livingston residents got good care.

One of those doctors was being transferred from Livingston in the 1980s and asked Garcia if he could stay. The clinic worked it out, and for the first time they were paying a doctor out of their own pockets.

Since then, the city has helped the clinic, and Garcia has kept the reins tight on expenses and care.

Cora Gonzalez, deputy chief executive for the clinic, said Garcia is compassionate to both the clinic's patients and employees.

"She has been involved throughout her whole career on health committees both locally and statewide," Gonzalez said. "She is well-respected in the medical community across the state."

Because the clinic takes care of the working poor, doctors and nurses are at the building until 8 in the evenings, and Saturday hours are held every week.

"With the economic recession, we are busy all day long," Garcia said. "Because our clients are trying to make a living in the fields, we try to accommodate them the best we can."

After more than 50 years of working in the medical field, Garcia is ready to retire. By the end of the year, she hopes to be spending time with her family, including her children and grandchildren.

But don't count her out just yet.

"I hope I can still be involved with the clinic, maybe serve on the board," she said. "I want to be able to stay and help out."

It seems her own role model, Vera Schmoll, has helped make another.

Reporter Carol Reiter can be reached at (209) 385-2486 or

creiter@mercedsun-star.com