Remote Area Medical treats hundreds at Heritage Middle
while most people in Blount County slept comfortably in their beds, Brenda Moore and hundreds of others were lined up in front of the school heritage, hoping their just before dawn arrival was enough early.
Remote Area Medical (RAM) - an organization that provides free medical services for one or under-insured by volunteer doctors, nurses and other health professionals across the country - held a free clinic Blount County Saturday and today, hui. The group has offered free medical, vision and dental services for people who can not afford them otherwise. But the doors did not open until 6 pm - Moore hours after arrival. At about 3 hours - more than 14 hours after she learned at school - Moore is still waiting to see a dentist its problematic wisdom teeth. But the waiting was worth it, she says, because otherwise there was no way she can afford the work that we have to do. "I think (the clinic RAM) is wonderful," she said. "So many of us simply can not afford to take off from work to go to a dentist." Getting to Middle School Heritage as soon as she did, Moore is still not the first person in line. "Guess what my number was," she said. "134. At 1:40 in the morning." People as far away as Kentucky - and some even farther than that - go to the clinic Saturday. The number of people requiring medical care was a shock for Moore, and he speaks to a larger problem, "she said. The problem: people need help. "This should be an eye open right there," said Moore. Within three hours, the number of people seeking help flooded the clinic and staff had to stop accepting new patients. People returned Saturday to return said today. Bill Hogan, president-elect of the Alcoa Kiwanis Club, said 499 people came through the doors Saturday. An additional 300 people, at least, are expected today. "You obviously see what the need is," he said. "There is a great need. "And I think it is not." The clinic was organized by the three Blount County Kiwanis Club - Alcoa, and Maryville Foothills. Ed Kelly, a dentist at the Atlanta region, made up Friday evening and went to school around 5:30 am He learned about remote areas of a medical report on television "60 Minutes" . Organizers said Kelly and other volunteers to expect a large number of people. But hearing that, and see hundreds of people in desperate need of medical assistance to the tail before sunrise, well, this is something completely different. "It hits you again," said Kelly. "He opens his eyes. "It makes you see what the need is real." Kenyatta Manns, an emergency room RN of the George Washington University Hospital in Washington DC, fell to Blount County, on his own time to volunteer in this weekend's RAM clinic. As Kelly, Manns said that the number of people seeking help has been amazing. "I'm really overwhelmed," she said. "The need is equally great." Zena Marashi, a senior nursing student at Knoxville College South, was at the clinic volunteer Saturday. Since the open door at 6 o'clock in the morning, "it is almost been non-stop," she said. It is occupied and it is exhausting, "she said. But as long as people were still sitting in the stands waiting for their turn in the dentist's chair, just fatigue does not matter. "It's as if you are tired, but you feel bad to be tired," she said. There was a dentist who has been on their feet all day, but should not take a break because it means someone in the crowd had to wait even longer for care, said Marashi. "It is amazing how many people need (care)," she said. "It's really sad. "Our country is so great that many respects, but it does not seem to want to reach out to people (need of medical care)," she said. "We are still in the stone age in this regard, and that is sad." Professionals who have donated their time to the clinic - which Marashi called "wonderful people" - had not made a complaint all day, while working on the teeth to a middle school gym was far from be optimal, "she said. Moore - who also called on health professionals "wonderful people" - said she was treated wonderfully by everyone at the clinic. "Everyone is so generous," she said. "They are so concerned about the patients. "If my number is next, it was worth it to have received here at 1:40 this morning." Hogan said the organizers plan to hold another clinic in 2010. But this weekend, the clinic was a success, he said. "Oh great, great success." |
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