Newsworthy

Stormont Vail Health is pleased to welcome Dr. Manuela Garcia, a board-certified family medicine physician, to its Hospitalist team. As a hospitalist, Dr. Garcia will play an important part in supporting both patients and their loved ones with answers, education, and support during their time at Stormont Vail Hospital, 1500 S.W. 10th Ave., Topeka 66604.

“I realized that, as a physician, I could also be a teacher,” Dr. Garcia said. “That was the main thing: teaching people how to care for themselves or their loved ones in a vulnerable time.”

As a family medicine physician with training in integrative medicine, Dr. Garcia takes a holistic approach that starts with listening to the patient as a person to find the best solution for their needs, goals, and lifestyle. This approach is particularly beneficial when educating patients from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

“Having that kind of cultural sensitivity and realizing it’s not easy to say, ‘Oh, just stop eating this food or that food.’ You have to come up with alternatives that taste good and prolong life and allow you to live a healthy life. Lifestyle changes and teaching are things I tend to focus on.”

Dr. Garcia earned her medical degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. She completed the Family Medicine Residency Program at Texas Tech University Health Science Center in El Paso and an Advanced Hospital Medicine and Public Health fellowship at Texas Tech in Lubbock.

Stormont Vail looks forward to working with Dr. Garcia and seeing the positive impact her appreciation for small moments and opportunities for teaching and reflection will make.