AltaMed Foundation

Impact Stories

All Stories

A Calling Answered: How PACE Nurse Margarita Garcia Lives Her Purpose Every Day

PACE Manager of Nursing Practice Margarita Garcia, RN, BSN, PHN, MSN, exemplifies a caregiver who lives her calling daily. Through skill, empathy, and genuine kindness, she embodies the compassionate spirit at the heart of AltaMed's mission.

PACE Manager of Nursing Practice Margarita Garcia, RN, BSN, PHN, MSN, exemplifies a caregiver who lives her calling daily through skill, empathy, and kindness.

A Mother's Influence

Garcia's narrative traces how her mother's informal caregiving work in a Mexican village inspired her lifelong nursing vocation.

In Mexico, back in the day, many people in small towns practiced nursing without being nurses.

Margarita Garcia

The Joy of Nursing

Despite lacking formal guidance, she pursued her dream, crediting mentors who recognized her potential and provided support during her education at East Los Angeles College and Los Angeles Trade-Technical College.

Nursing is amazing! You teach, you care for patients, and yet it is teaching and caring for you, too.

Margarita Garcia

Paying It Forward

The story emphasizes nursing as a calling rooted in service and community support, highlighting how nurses uplift and encourage each other professionally.

You need to help someone struggling like you are.

Advice from a charge nurse

who gave Garcia $500 for textbooks

Follow & Subscribe

H.E.L.P. Campaign

Through the H.E.L.P. Powered by YOU campaign, we invest in people — supporting programs that bring care closer, remove barriers, and help families build healthier, more stable lives.

Learn More
AltaMed Foundation H.E.L.P. Campaign community support