Who We Are

Virginia Garcia dies from a preventable foot wound at St. Vincent Hospital

Shortly thereafter, the St. Vincent hospital administrator directs its staff to ensure such a preventable tragedy would never happen again. They approach Centro Cultural about establishing a health care program.

Centro Cultural, St. Vincent, the Washington County Migrant Health Advisory Board and others come together to open Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center.

The goal was to provide high-quality health care to all, especially populations facing barriers to care regardless of ability to pay. Providers would speak the same language as patients and deliver culturally appropriate care.

During its first three months of operation, 1200 patients came, most being Latine farmworkers without health insurance. No one was turned away, but staff and supporters struggled to keep the doors open.

VGMHC purchases a house across the street from the original clinic location.

This doubles patient capacity. During the summer, the clinic sees up to 50 patients/day.

Virginia Garcia reaches 10,000 patient visits a year. Outreach efforts to migrant farmworker camps begin

Virginia Garcia recognizes transportation as a major barrier to healthcare for migrant farmworkers. After a previous effort to have camp managers bring workers to the clinic saw limited success, Executive Director Jim Zaleski now proposes a more effective solution: delivering care directly to the farmworker camps.

“We’re going to use the resources we have, but we’re going to use them in a different way. We plan to do more outreach work and health screening at the camps. We want to be more visible in the camps and in the community” - Jim Zaleski

McMinnville Clinic opens.

Cornelius Dental Clinic opens.

A block away from the Cornelius Clinic, Virginia Garcia opens a newly designated clinic for the dental and optometry teams. The dental team was headed by Dr. Scott Bibbens, and the optometry team was run in partnership with Pacific University. Both teams grew in response to a rising need for care for patients with vision and dental complications related to diabetes.

New clinic in Hillsboro opens.

As the need for healthcare services continues to grow, Cornelius clinics become overwhelmed, seeing up to 10,000 patients per year. The opening of the Hillsboro clinic allowed for an additional 5,000 patients to be seen.

Beaverton Clinic opens.

Identifying a large need for healthcare in the city’s Latino and Asian population, Virginia Garcia expands its reach to combat cultural and language barriers to care. A new partnership with Portland-based Asian Health and Service Center provides translators to serve Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and other Asian language speaking patients.

Virginia Garcia’s father and sister visit the grand opening of the Hillsboro Primary Care site and were amazed at what had been created, and how Virginia’s story had inspired and brought the community together

During their stay, they were guided by Maria Loredo, longtime employee and former farmworker, and visited the Virginia Garcia clinics in Cornelius, Hillsboro, Beaverton, and McMinnville.

First School-Based Health Center in Tigard.

After hearing stories of teens struggling to access care, Virginia Garcia joins in on efforts to go to where they are. With the motto, “Keeping kids healthy, in school, and ready to learn,” the clinic initially opened with just three staff: a nurse practitioner, a therapist, and an office assistant.

With the opening of the wellness center, Virginia Garcia is able to see almost 40,000 patients annually. The name change from clinic to wellness center represents a shift in focus towards an integrated-care method that emphasizes preventative care--addressing health risks before they become diseases. A big change from the previous Cornelius clinic, which was struggling to serve everyone, the new wellness center is four times larger and includes a community garden, a community kitchen which will host nutrition classes, an exercise space, and meeting rooms.

“We envisioned the new wellness center as clinicians, a place that was not about illness but about staying well. We wanted a place people could come to learn to cook, move their bodies and heal their spirits” -Lyn Jacobs

Newberg Clinic opens.

In 2013, Yamhill County was home to an estimated 8,250 farmworkers—surpassing the 6,700 in Washington County. Virginia Garcia’s Newberg clinic would provide them with primary care, mental health services, and dental care. In addition, it served as a base for farmworker outreach programs that work to expand services to the rest of Yamhill County.

Beaverton Wellness Center opens.

Covid Pandemic: VG Vaccinates over 30,000 members of the community.

Faced with disproportionately high numbers of positive COVID-19 cases among the majority Latino patients--up to 90%, Virginia Garcia works to advocate for a greater emphasis in implementing strategies for prevention and providing care. Staff came together with determination and compassion to serve and protect the community when it was needed most.

“The first diagnosed case of COVID occurred in Washington County in February 2020 -- our own backyard. Without hesitation, we marshalled our resources and took our mobile clinic to the Hillsboro Stadium parking lot, and people lined up in their cars to be screened for the disease. Our medical and dental teams donned protective gear and worked together at the mobile site, braving the rain and cold of winter as well as the fear that they could contract the disease and take it home to their families.”

- Wendy Owens, Virginia Garcia Grants Officer

Creating workforce development programs for the community and Virginia Garcia employees to begin or advance their health care careers.

The Workforce Development Program opens pathways to careers as Medical Assistants, Dental Assistants, and Pharmacy Technicians. Through partnerships with local high schools, students can graduate with certifications in these fields and begin working at Virginia Garcia right after graduation. Additionally, collaborations with local universities support current staff in advancing their careers to become Dental Hygienists and Nurses. To make these opportunities more accessible, the Maria Loredo Workforce Development Fund offers tuition reimbursement for Virginia Garcia employees pursuing education or certificate-level training.