Dr. Garcia's story starts out as a child with severe asthma in the 1960's and 1970's, when this disease was believed to be emotionally triggered. At age 9, in acute respiratory distress, Dr. Garcia was walked by her grandmother, who had no money, to the pharmacy. As a 9 year old child, she convinced the pharmacist to give her the inhaler she required to keep breathing and promised that her parents would pay him when they returned to town. Dr. Garcia never forgot that generous man.

Dr. Garcia was a high school dropout. She lived in Los Angeles and hung out with a rough crowd, but always remembered the people who helped her beat asthma. During her years in LA, Dr. Garcia saw the desperation in the medical condition of the homeless and poor. She decided to become a doctor and told her family her plans. They laughed at her. She was told "our kind don't go to college". Dr. Garcia did attend college.

After completing her residency, Dr. Garcia convinced the medical center at her hospital to open a clinic to serve the underserved. Today, 3 years later, Dr. Garcia has multiple contacts with pharmaceutical companies to provide free medication to the needy. Averaging 20-30 patients a day, Dr. Garcia turns nobody away. Homeless, non-residents, poor, uninsured – all kinds of folks line up and wait to see Dr. Jamie.

In addition, Dr. Garcia helps provide basic screening exams to identify homeless folks requiring medical care and introduce them to the available services. In this way, non-judgmental, honest, compassionate, quality medical care is delivered to the needy.

Dr. Jamie Garcia takes her work home with her each evening. For most patients, medical questions are just a phone call away, as Dr. Garcia gives her cell phone number when patients are scared, unsure, or concerned with the treatment. She has organized outreach education classes to further decrease medical costs through prevention.

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