By SUE RYAN
News staff writer
March 17, 2008

Hood River native Silvia Ochoa takes the next step toward her dream when she goes off to school in May.

She currently works for Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital as a medical assistant for its “Mission in Motion” mobile health unit. But Ochoa wants to go further by becoming a physicians’ assistant and will be attending Pacific University for her master’s degree.

She has had the goal in her sights for some time now, even before she earned her bachelor’s in biology from Willamette University in 2006 as a Gates Millenium scholar.

She said when she volunteered at the hospital while attending Hood River Valley High School that she first noticed physicians’ assistants.

“They work in tandem with a licensed medical doctor to see and treat patients,” Ochoa said.

“I also saw that it was a place that needed bilingual people who were medically trained. For example, the words for blister and gall bladder are quite similar in Spanish and if the wrong word is used it can be confusing.”

Ochoa’s background and upbringing involved her from a young age in helping to translate for her family and other farm workers. Her parents, Alfonso Ochoa and Maria Elena Sosa, work in the orchards.

She said her family’s experiences motivated her to become part of the solution to the need for someone steeped in both the language and culture of Hispanic people.

Ochoa also admired the people she saw working in medicine — their dedication and diligence to helping people with essential needs. Her volunteer stint at the hospital as part of exploring potential careers was followed by a family health crisis that brought home to her just how much impact she could have in the medical field.

“My 3-year-old cousin was diagnosed with leukemia … I went to the initial appointments, the follow-up appointments, the treatments and saw that there was more than just a need for someone bilingual; that there was a high demand.”

When not working with the mobile unit, Ochoa is an on-call interpreter during nights at the hospital. She also gives back to the community by serving as a mentor at the high school.

Inspiration Circle pulls in people from the community such as Ochoa to help guide teenagers. Tasks vary from helping fund-raise to chaperoning dances to just talking.

“We help them to realize what they want to do in life,” she said.

Ochoa said her family, patients and coworkers have encouraged her to go on. She was the first girl in her family to attend college but won’t forget her roots as she intends to return to Hood River. Her ultimate goal as a physician’s assistant is to help not only her patients but their children.

“I want to see that children are kept out of the exam room and that their parents get the care they need,” she said. Before tackling that goal, Ochoa will take her first break in two years, with a vacation to Mexico.