About White Memorial

Training to Serve the Underserved

Mariela Garcia, MD, is a resident in the Family Medicine Residency Program at WMMC, the leading family medicine residency program in the state dedicated to training physicians to practice in under-served communities.

Dr. Garcia first learned about WMMC when, as a recent college graduate and leader of Jóvenes por la Salud (Youth for Health), she met Hector Flores, MD, Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program.

Their paths crossed again while Dr. Garcia was serving as co-chair of the Latino Medical Student Association in medical school. “He has a very motivating, enthusiastic style but at the same time is very down to earth and approachable. We asked him to participate in several events and he never turned us down,” said Dr. Garcia.

When Dr. Garcia was applying for residency programs, Dr. Flores encouraged her to apply at WMMC. She thought it would be “the perfect fit because of Dr. Flores’ involvement, the overall quality of the staff, and because it would be very gratifying personally to practice in an underserved community that could use my skills.”

Since joining the program, Dr. Garcia has found WMMC to be a welcoming place. “The attending physicians are wonderful. They’re helpful, open to questions and willing to teach. There’s also a sense of community among all the staff. Everyone can approach anyone else for the betterment of patient health.”

Many more residents like Dr. Garcia benefit from the training and mentorship they receive from our medical staff. Our residency programs are an asset to our community because they help attract, train and retain physicians to practice in Medically Underserved Areas like those in our neighborhood.