During a recent visit to the doctor, my 6-year-old son pointed down the hall from the waiting room.
“There’s the guy who saw the giraffe inside my ear,” he said. “He does magic, you know.”
In the offices of Tan & Garcia Pediatrics, tales of animals and magic tricks are commonplace, and so are expressions of adoration and respect. Just ask any one of three generations of patients seen by Dr. Guillermo Garcia during his 40 years as a pediatrician in central Pennsylvania.
Since 1977, Garcia has conducted countless office visits and phone calls, dedicating his professional life to caring for the community’s children. This summer, however, he made the difficult decision to hang up his stethoscope and retire from practicing medicine.
“I have been so fortunate to be able to do what I do,” Garcia said. “It’s been absolutely incredible.”
Garcia explained that he wanted to be a doctor since elementary school, where he dissected chickens and armadillos in a small town in Mexico.
“It was crazy,” he said. “It was anatomy live.”
Garcia moved to Mexico City and attended La Salle University, later completing medical school at the National University of Mexico. He attributes the development of his passion and his patient approach to the authentic learning experiences working with one of his professors, a man he holds in high regard.
“Our teacher, Dr. Ramirez, told us to buy a white coat, get a pair of gloves, show up in the emergency room and offer your help,” recalled Garcia.
It was in the emergency rooms of Mexico City where Garcia delivered his first baby when he was only 17 years old.
“I could write a book about my clinical experience,” he said. “That’s how we learned, and it was incredibly valuable.”
Garcia’s experiences—both during his internship in Canada and later in Guanajuatillo, Mexico, where he completed his service commitment—provided him with a profound perspective. He spent a year as the doctor of the small town, treating various maladies and delivering countless babies. Garcia dedicated substantial time to improving conditions there, explaining that he was most proud of his work that resulted in a new school and sanitation system.
“There was so much need there,” he said.
Garcia applied and was accepted into the residency program at Polyclinic Hospital, later completing a fellowship at the University of Rochester, where he met Dr. Frank Procopio.
“He and Dr. Tan started a practice in 1976,” Garcia said. “They opened the office in Camp Hill, and I joined them the following year.”
In 1978, they opened a second office in Union Deposit. Procopio retired in the mid-1990s, and Tan & Garcia Pediatrics has been caring for the Harrisburg region’s children and their families ever since.
“I have seen grandmothers who were my patients, who now bring their grandchildren to see me,” Garcia said. “It’s such a privilege to witness the metamorphosis.”
And although the patients have changed, Garcia said his approach to practicing medicine remains steadfast, central to the spirit of his practice.
“I need to make the connection,” he said. “We need to care not just for the patient, but for parents, too.”
But care, he said, is a two-way street, as he’s also learned so much from his patients and their families.
“They are the ones who taught me what pediatrics is all about,” he explained. “It’s a different tier of medicine.”
His gratitude extends to his partnership with Dr. Yoke Tan, the colleague with whom he spent 40 years of professional practice.
“It was a good marriage,” he said of their partnership.
Dr. Tan returned the compliment, noting Garcia’s compassion for his patients and his ability to connect with children and their parents.
“He is an astute clinician—a very good friend and colleague,” Tan said.
Although he will miss Garcia, Tan said he is happy for the new opportunities retirement will offer his friend.
“I wish him well, and I wish him good health,” he said. “And I wish him the time to do the different things he has always wanted to do.”
Garcia has mixed emotions about moving on.
“It’s hard to go,” he said. “I’m going to miss the patients. The children, my children, are amazing. I’m honored to have been part of the greatest profession.”
Nonetheless, he looks forward to spending more time with his family—especially his grandchildren. He said the change of pace will afford him new adventures, like trips to Mexico where he can involve himself in projects like volunteering to teach English in schools. He also is interested in the environmental health and preservation of Mexico’s natural resources.
“I’m looking forward to the new adventure,” he said. “And I like the challenge of trying to figure things out. So, I’m going to help.”
Author: Jen Fertenbaugh
