Senator Gordon Smith Joins Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center and Pfizer to Honor a Community...(ooms and make better use of preventive s...),Health

"Maria Loredo's inspiring journey and lifetime of service is an inspiration to us all," said Senator Gordon Smith. "I commend Maria and the staff of Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center for providing quality, accessible health care for over 30 years to Washington and Yamhill County's uninsured and most vulnerable."

With 665,000 Oregonians living without health coverage, rising health insurance premiums and an increasing number of employers limiting health benefits, more and more people are turning to community health services for care. With the help of companies like Pfizer, Community Health Centers are able to provide care for those who would otherwise go without.

Pfizer supports Community Health Centers like Virginia Garcia through one of its patient assistance programs, called Sharing the Care(TM), which was launched in 1993 to make Pfizer medicines available for free to eligible health center patients. Through Sharing the Care, Pfizer partners with more than 450 health centers in 49 states. In just the past five years, Pfizer has provided nearly 9.6 million prescriptions, valued at more than $780 million, to more than 2.4 million community health center patients.

The event will take place at 3:00 p.m. at Virginia Garcia's clinic, located at 226 SE 8th Ave., Hillsboro, Oregon. For more information, please visit http://www.healthcenterweek.org, or contact Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center at http://www.virginiagarcia.org or call 503-359-8518.

"Pfizer is dedicated to supporting community service organizations that improve access to quality health care. We are fortunate to have partners in this mission, like Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center - a fixture of Hillsboro's health care community - and Senator Gordon Smith, who has persisted in his efforts to imp
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