On the Job with Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital VP of Emergency Services Victor Garcia

ALBANY — A new addition to Albany, Victor Garcia serves as the vice president of emergency services for Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. With more than a decade of experience in emergency services under his belt, he saw an opportunity and came to Southwest Georgia.

Having been on the job for more than three months now, the father of four came to the Albany area from Methodist Hospitals in Gary and Merrillville, Ind., where he was the director for critical care services. Before that, he was the director of critical care at Methodist Hospital of Sacramento, Calif. He previously held the same position at Mercy Gilbert in Gilbert, Ariz., and at Phoenix Memorial in Phoenix, Ariz.

In a recent sit-down with Herald writer Jennifer Parks, he talks of his love of motorcycles, his desire to be able to meet John F. Kennedy and the impact the recent recession and the Affordable Care Act has had on the health care field.

Q. What was your very first job?

A. A neighbor, one of my best friends, his mother managed a jewelry store, so I guess I was a jewelry person. I was maybe 14.

Q. What was the first thing you spent money on when you received your first paycheck?

A. I couldn’t tell you. I probably bought McDonald’s. I remember deciding whether to frame it, but I wouldn’t be able to use the money.