RAM clinic bringing free medical care to Bristol April 14-15
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Doctors, nurses, and especially dentists, are being paged to volunteer at an event in April that sees thousands line up days in advance for free medical care.
While announcing plans for a second Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 14 and 15, Tri-Cities RAM Chair Helen Scott issued a plea to area physicians and dental specialists for their assistance that weekend.
“Eight out of 10 people requested help with dental (needs). ... We need more professional volunteers, especially dentists,” said Scott, who said dentistry work — including fillings, cleanings and extractions — was in high demand during the October 2010 clinic.
That event saw 1,307 people stream through the speedway facility’s infield for medical advice and care for optical and hearing problems, with eyewear crafted and fittings for hearing aids done on site, resulting in nearly $500,000 in services rendered free of charge.
Anyone in the medical community wanting to volunteer or those in the region wanting to give financial contributions to help with planning the event can visit www.ramusa.org or call Scott at (423) 652-2516.
Using the spirit he used to wrestle reptiles in the Amazon, former NBC “Wild Kingdom” co-host and RAM founder Stan Brock told the audience gathered at the BMS Media Center of a pressing need that could be conquered with approval by states that could get more patients help.
“The United States needs to change the rules so that doctors of all descriptions can cross state lines to provide free care for the underserved,” said Brock. “We would have liked to have responded to (a tornado event in Alabama on Monday), but those states do not allow practitioners who do not have a license to provide even free care. We are so thankful for the ones who come to help here in the Tri-Cities and Bristol area.”
Dr. Joe Smiddy of Pulmonary Associates of Kingsport, a Tri-Cities RAM event coordinator, says in 40 years of medical work he has never found a more fulfilling organized event that can help so many.
“What grabs your heartstrings is those individual faces who got their first pair of glasses or discovered that they need (a procedure) that could be done so simply, so we remember those individual faces,” said Smiddy.
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The RAM events are good in that they help the needy but it also shows this region in a bad light. The other places RAM events take place are in third world countries. What does this say about us here?