The Remote Area Medical pop-up clinic is scheduled to return to Henderson for a fifth consecutive year, providing medical, dental and vision care absolutely free of charge for anyone.
The two-day clinic takes place at Vance Charter School, 2090 Ross Mill Rd., on Saturday, Mar. 28 and Sunday, Mar. 29, and clinic co-leader Lara Kendall says many of the details are the same as for previous clinics. Because patients are seen on a first-come, first-served basis, she recommends that folks arrive as early as they possibly can to make sure they can get the care they’re seeking.
The parking lot will open Friday, Mar. 27 at 11:59 p.m. The Saturday clinic begins at 6 a.m.
If you’d like to volunteer to help at the clinic, please visit https://www.ramusa.org/ to sign up to be a general support volunteer. No special skills are needed, Kendall pointed out – just a willingness to be there…and getting up a little bit early.
The clinic could use a few more dentists to help out, she said, and they are always happy to have additional vision and medical providers as well.
In addition to the more routine services like basic vital screenings and blood panels, patients can see doctors, nurses and physician assistants for other types of care. Dentists and hygienists will perform dental cleanings, fillings and extractions as well as other more complicated types of oral surgery.
And patients who come for vision services can come in, have their eyes examined and walk out with a brand-new pair of eyeglasses that were made right on the spot.
Just more than 300 patients received services at last year’s clinic, and Kendall recalled one of her favorite moments from last year’s clinic.
A little boy, who had just seen the dentist, came running out of the clinic, announcing happily to all around him that he could eat whatever he wanted. “I can chew it all as hard as I want,” she recalled the youngster saying.
For many, the RAM clinic is the way they get health care. They don’t have to show proof of insurance or even an ID card, Kendall said.
“It’s really heartening to know that the clinic we’re putting out there is serving its purpose,” she said, adding that it’s also “a little bit disheartening that the need is that great in the community.”
The RAM clinic provides a “Band-Aid solution” to the issue of having access to care in this area and across the country, she added.
Kendall, who grew up on Sanibel Island off the Florida coast, said she remembers having to go to the mainland for doctor or dentist visits. A series of bridges connects the island to Florida, and when hurricanes caused problems, they’d have to use fishing boats to ferry them back and forth.
People who lack access to quality health care can feel just as isolated as she did growing up on an island, and Kendall said her experiences have fueled her desire to help provide people the care they deserve.
Now a junior at Duke, Kendall said she aspires to go to medical school and work in disaster relief to provide medical services following hurricanes and other types of natural disasters.
Granville-Vance Public Health is a strong partner for this year’s clinic, and Kendall said interpreters will be on hand again this year to assist with provider-patient communication.
Speaking on behalf of this year’s team of Duke students working to plan the clinic, Kendall said they are dedicated to the effort and truly care about everyone who participates, from the volunteer doctors, nurses and dentists and patients to the volunteers that help make the clinic run smoothly.
“We are so deeply grateful for the community of Henderson,” Kendall said. “We really do have the best intentions. We just want to make a difference and help people.”
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