The Duke RAM clinic is returning to Henderson later this month to provide free health, vision and dental care for patients in the community.
RAM stands for Remote Area Medical, and this year marks the third year in a row that the clinic has come to town. Clinic volunteers will set up shop once again at Vance Charter School on Ross Mill Road on Saturday, Feb. 17 and Sunday, Feb. 18. The clinic doors open at 6 a.m. each day to provide care, from routine exams to dental cleanings and extractions, as well as eye exams and eyeglasses. The clinic runs to 4 p.m. on Saturday and until 12 noon or 1 p.m. on Sunday
“We hope to be bigger and better than the last two years,” said Duke junior Anvi Sharvu, one of the event organizers.
Sharvu, a biology and sociology major, has been involved with RAM ever since she arrived at Duke and said she’s excited to see how many patients will get much-needed medical, dental and vision care during the two-day clinic.
She and Duke senior Sajan Patel were guests on Wednesday’s TownTalk to share details about the upcoming event.
Patients can start lining up at 12 midnight on Friday before the clinic opens on Saturday, and Patel said the clinic has “the capacity to see a lot of patients this year, especially on the dental side,” thanks to a team of dentists and student dentists from the
ECU Dental School.
“I’m a graduating senior,” Patel said, adding that he’s been involved with RAM since he’s been a student at Duke. He will graduate in the spring with degrees in biology and global health.
“I’m really excited and proud of our entire team,” he said.
Volunteers from other agencies including the local Granville Vance Public Health and other health care professionals, the duo said the clinic should be able to see even more patients than last year.
Sharvu said the need for essential health care remains high, especially in rural or underserved areas. “We just want to make sure more people can get care,” she said. Last year’s clinic provided dozens of dental cleanings, hundreds of tooth extractions and distributed 140 pairs of glasses.
The clinic requires no insurance or ID; there’s a questionnaire to fill out when you arrive, but even that’s optional, they say.
There will be other agencies on hand to provide resources for patients, including N.C. Legal Aid representatives who can help answer questions about Medicaid and Medicare. N.C. Harm Reduction also will be on site with free Narcan and instructions about how to use it in case of an overdose emergency.
And the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina will be giving away fresh produce.
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