"Dr. Tess was many things before becoming a doctor: a music teacher, an environmental health consultant, a technical writer and editor, and an OSHA safety consultant. However, in November 1993, she received the call to become a physician. The call was so clear that, within a week, she had quit her job and enrolled in University of Maryland at College Park. In August of 1995, she started at the Medical College of Virginia and graduated in 1999 with the degree of Medical Doctor. Dr. Tess completed her residency training at the University of Missouri at Kansas City Family Practice Residency Program. In July 2002, she became a Board-Certified Family Physician.
In January 2003, she began her NHSC service at Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center and in October was transferred to Rodgers-Lafayette Community Health Center in Lexington, Missouri, giving her experience in both urban and rural medicine. Dr. Tess practiced Full Scope Family Medicine, doing obstetrics and hospital work, in addition to the ambulatory care she delivered at the Health Center.
In July 2007, Dr. Tess opened a solo practice, Garcia Family Medicine & Women’s Health, in Grain Valley, Missouri. She continued doing obstetrics and hospital work until the middle of 2012, then proceeded doing ambulatory care.
Dr. Tess was called to medicine to serve her patients, particularly the underserved and underrepresented. To further her purpose, she opened Garcia Family Medicine - a direct primary care practice in April of 2019 to provide excellent care and healing, at an affordable price, all without insurance."
