May 3, 2014
The Texas Medical Association (TMA) has elected. A. Tomas
Garcia III, MD, as its president-elect. TMA’s House of Delegates, the
association’s policymaking body, elected Dr. Garcia today during the association’s
annual conference in Fort Worth. Dr. Garcia will serve as president-elect for
one year, before becoming the association’s 150th president.
The Houston cardiologist says, “This is an exciting and challenging time
for our profession. With the challenges facing us, it is important to maintain
focus on our vision: ‘To Improve the Health of All Texans.’”
Dr. Garcia stressed that organized medicine must support its
vision — to protect the patient-physician relationship and improve health care
for all Texans — which TMA has worked so hard to do throughout the years. “By
standing together, all of us will succeed individually if we work collectively
as a cohesive body of professionals to the benefit of our patients,” he added.
Dr. Garcia has dedicated more than 30 years to leadership in
organized medicine. He has been chair and secretary
of the TMA Board of Trustees, chair of TMA’s Committee on Cardiovascular
Diseases, and president of the TMA Foundation, the association’s philanthropic
arm. In addition, he has been a member of TMA’s House of Delegates since 1995
and a district chair of TEXPAC, TMA’s Political Action Committee.
Dr. Garcia also has served on TMA’s Council on Legislation and Border Health
Caucus. Over the years, Dr. Garcia has advocated for improving Texan’s health
by testifying before the Texas Legislature and visiting with lawmakers in
Washington, D.C.
In Houston, Dr. Garcia served as president of Harris County Medical
Society (HCMS) in 2008 and is currently a member of the Texas Medical Center
and Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center boards. He has served in numerous HCMS leadership
positions over the years, including chair of its delegation to TMA from 1999 to
2001.
On the national level, Dr. Garcia has served as the TMA
delegate to the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates since
1998. He also served on the AMA Special Advisory Group Extraordinaire in 2002.
Leadership runs in the Garcia family’s blood; Dr. Garcia’s sisters
also are leading their respective organizations. A Corpus Christi attorney, Lucinda
Garcia is president of her local bar association, and Lily Garcia-Bohnenkamp,
DDS, a faculty member at The University of Iowa, College of Dentistry, is past
president of the American College of Prosthodontics and current chair of the
American Dental Education Association.
Dr. Garcia is a native Texan and a graduate of The
University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor of science in pharmacy. He graduated from the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine in Jalisco, Mexico. Dr. Garcia has
practiced cardiology in Houston since 1981. He is an Eagle Scout and an active
member of the Boy Scouts of America, Sam Houston Council. This year, he was
presented with a National Outstanding Eagle Scout Award for Adults. Dr. Garcia
and his wife, Alma, have been married for 43 years and have four adult children
and two grandchildren. Dr. Garcia and his wife are long-time members of the St.
John Vianney Catholic Church in Houston.
TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 47,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 112 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.
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Contact: Pam Udall (512) 370-1382; cell: (512) 413-6807; email: pam.udall[at]texmed[dot]org
Brent Annear (512) 370-1381; cell: (512) 656-7320; email: brent.annear[at]texmed[dot]org
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