R.A.M. Clinic Will Provide Free Health Services To Area Residents On January 22-23

Oneida, TN (2011-01-17) This Saturday and Sunday (January 22-23, 2011), citizens of Scott and surrounding counties will have access to free medical, dental and vision care from Remote Area Medical (R.A.M.), a non-profit, volunteer, airborne relief corps based in Knoxville. The two-day event will be the largest in local history, as up to 1,000 patients are expected to be served.

Remote Area Medical (R.A.M.), which has conducted several local clinics in the past, will return to Scott County this weekend to again offer free medical, dental and vision care to all citizens, especially those without healthcare coverage. This clinic, which will be held at the Boys and Girls Club of Scott County at 17025 Alberta Street in Oneida, will focus on dental care, with at least 50 dentists expected to volunteer their time and expertise. Denture repair and relining, along with flu shots and mammography screenings will also be offered.

In all, event organizers are expecting the clinic to serve up to 1,000 people, primarily those living in Scott, Morgan and Fentress Counties in Tennessee, along with residents of McCreary County, KY.

In an effort to expedite care, persons seeking services must park at HBD Industries, which is located at 240 Industrial Lane in Oneida. From there, patients will be shuttled to the clinic site via bus. At HBD, patients will be assigned a care number, which is required to obtain services at the clinic. Volunteers will begin assigning numbers for patients beginning at midnight, Friday, January 21, 2011 for Saturday services and again at midnight, Saturday, January 22, 2011 for those persons wanting to be seen on Sunday. A set number of care numbers will be assigned each day. Persons without a care number or those attempting to park at the clinic site will be redirected to the HBD location. Anyone leaving the staging area will be required to relinquish his or her care number and get a new number when he or she returns. Persons may pick up care numbers for others and hold those numbers, on site; however, these persons will have to be present at HBD prior to the departure of the bus.

With a high number of patients expected, organizers are looking for volunteers to assist with all aspects of the clinic. Volunteers should call Lily Stein at (423) 286-2502 to sign up. Volunteers are subject to age restrictions, as all 15 to 16 year old volunteers must be accompanied by an adult at all times, while those 16 up to 18 years of age must have a parent on site. Persons volunteering on Friday should report to the clinic site at 12:00 p.m. (noon), while those volunteering on Saturday and Sunday should arrive at 5:30 a.m. Volunteers will be permitted to park at the Boys and Girls Club site.

Since patients may be waiting hours to be seen, organizers are also hoping to provide snacks for them. If you would like to provide food or snacks to patients please call Tilda Bowling at (423) 627-2881.

All medical, dental, and vision services provided are free of charge and provided on a first come, first served basis. For more information about the clinic, you may call the offices of Appalachian Life Quality Initiative at (423) 569-2677.