FOUNDATION BOARD
Inspired to Serve the Underserved Foundation Board Member George Savage, M.D., Aims to Lift Others With the Power of Education By Gina Oltman
When Livingston Community Health patients receive excellent care from Dr. George Savage, they might be inclined to say a prayer of gratitude to his Jamaican grandmother.
secure private support to supplement the services and funding provided by the state to students, staff and faculty at the University. A board member since July 2023, Savage believes the role suits him well, and he’s eager to help students improve their lives and their communities. “I am big on education because it is a way to most assuredly escape generational curses or whatever circumstances a person might have,” he said. “Whatever career path you want to take, education will lift you. Higher learning allows everyone to better themselves, whether that be economically or by helping you be a more knowledgeable, well-rounded person.”
Had she not died nearly 27 years ago of cervical cancer, Savage might be practicing a specialty other than obstetrics and gynecology. “She was an immigrant, and she didn’t get care because she was uninsured and couldn’t afford it,” he said. “She didn’t have to die. She had a treatable GYN issue that worsened due to poor access to health care.”
Savage knows a lot about the power of education to lift a person because he has experienced it. A native of Jamaica, he immigrated to the United States as a teenager and settled with his family in New York City’s Bronx borough during a period of urban decay and increasing crime. After high school, he joined the U.S. Marines and eventually moved to a place he found much more pleasant.
The heart-breaking loss inspired Savage, a pre-med undergraduate student at the time, to commit to the OB/GYN field. He now practices at Livingston Community Health because he is dedicated to treating underserved patients much like his grandmother.
“I was stationed in California, and I never left. It’s my favorite state in the Union,” he said.
“This is an FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center) for underinsured and uninsured patients, and these are the patients I prefer to work with,” he said. “They need physicians. They need somebody to help them. They just want good care, and they are grateful for it. That is why I’m here.”
After his stint in the Marines, he enrolled as an undergraduate at UC Santa Barbara. Medicine was one of the careers he was considering. When he found himself doing exceptionally well in an organic chemistry class, his choice to become a physician solidified. He started preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) to pursue a career as a doctor.
Savage is one of the newest members of the Stanislaus State Foundation Board of Directors, which works to
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