A former orchard worker, this doctor has walked in his patients’ shoes

When Saul Valencia, M.D., sees patients at the community health center where he practices who work in the local orchards, he knows what their work is like. He’s walked in their shoes.

Valencia, now the medical director of Tri-Cities Community Health in Pasco, Washington, grew up working in orchards and sees himself in his patients, according to a story about him in the Tri-City Herald.

For the men, women, and children who come to the non-profit community health center which serves a mostly low-income population, “I understand where they come from,” Valencia told the newspaper.

When many of his patients tell them they make a living picking cherries and apples in the orchards, Valencia can say he once did the same work. And he understands why they may arrive late for an appointment or not come at all and what missing a day’s work can mean to their paycheck.

A native of Mexico, Valencia, 43, moved to the U.S. with his family at the age of 7. He grew up in Yakima, Washington and was the first member of his family to go to college. After originally being turned down for admission at Washington State University, he got accepted and earned a degree in microbiology and went on to medical school at the University of Washington.

He worked as a family physician at Tri-Cities for more than three years and in June became medical director.

 “What he brings to the position is insight as to how our patients are served in our clinics, the nature of our patient population,” Al Cordova, the nonprofit community health center’s CEO, told the newspaper. “(He has) the ability to see our clinics from the patients’ point of view.”

Valencia knows about hard work and struggle. He didn’t speak English or have much formal education when he came to the United States. He struggled in school and had to repeat the first grade. In high school, he was not among the top students and his average was a 2.6. He flunked his biology class a couple of times because he had to leave school to work in the orchards, he said.

He wasn’t thinking about college but a friend, home on winter break, told him he should apply to Washington State University. He was originally turned down, but mailed them a note, written in pencil on notebook paper to ask for reconsideration. He was eventually offered a slot and studied microbiology, before going to medical school.

As the new medical director, Valencia has set some goals: to improve access for patients and quality of care, as well as help other physicians become more quality-driven and focus on evidence-based medicine.  

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