The exhibition tells the story of Virginia Garcia, 50 years after her death

There are 18 Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Centers in the counties Washington and Yamhill, but patients may not know the history of the clinic's namesake. A bilingual exhibition in the Oregon Historical Society, which closes on August 3, tells the story of Virginia Garcia. She died 50 years ago this summer, but her inheritance has shaped health care in Oregon ever since.

Virginia Garcia was born on January 17, 1969 near Mission, Texas. According to the exhibition, she was a happy and slightly mischievous girl who loved singing. In 1975 her family followed the annual strawberry harvest who traveled from Texas to Oregon. Virginia cut her foot somewhere on the way. When her family arrived in Washington County, the wound was infected. Her parents brought them to a local hospital where care was refused because they had no health insurance. She died of septicemia on June 17, 1975. She was 6 years old.

It is a tragic story of language, cultural and economic barriers that prevent Virginia from preserving health care she needed. However, health service providers, activists and district officers worked together from the tragedy to open the first Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center on July 3, 1975, just three weeks after their death. The 18 clinics now see 52,000 patients a year.

“She went to heaven and the clinic stayed in her name for other people you need,” says Alma Garcia Reyes, sister of Virginia, in the exhibition text.

There is a virtual exhibition online for people who do not make it into the city center of the Museum of the Oregon Historical Society.

“Virginia Garcia: Fifty Years and Effects in our community” at the Oregon Historical Society, 1200 SW Park Ave. 503-222-1741, Ohs.org/. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Free for young people 17 and at, OHS members and residents of the Multnomah County.

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