Remote Area Medical to hold Blount County clinic

From Staff Reports

Remote Area Medical will hold a free clinic sponsored by the Kiwanis Clubs of Blount County (Alcoa, Foothills and Maryville) on July 12 and 13 at Heritage Middle School.
The doors will open at 6:30 a.m. on both dates and people will be seen on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is suggested that people arrive early as some will likely camp out all night, as has happened at many past clinics.

RAM, founded by Stan Brock, is based in Knoxville and provides a wide range of free basic health, dental and optical services to the underserved, uninsured and unemployed.

The group is asking for professional volunteers to help serve those who come to the Blount County clinic.

Ron Brewer, state director of RAM, speaking Friday as he rode in an 18-wheeler on the way to a clinic in Harrogate, said physicians have volunteered their time and expertise for the clinic at Heritage Middle School, but more medical professionals are needed.

“We need help in the vision area. We have an eye lab we will bring with us, but we need some optometrists,” Brewer said. “And we would love to have local nursing professionals helping with triage and medical histories.”

He said RAM is coming to Blount County because the group has received several requests to do so.

Herk Holbert, president of the Kiwanis Club of Alcoa, said the club’s involvement came after Brock spoke before the Alcoa group.

“He came over to our club and had a meeting with us talked with us on RAM,” Holbert said.

When club members learned about the RAM mission, they decided to act.

“Folks asked what can we do to help? So we got on the phone (to RAM) and they said, ‘We think we have something scheduled around the 13th of July.’ We asked if there is any local organization helping.”

So Alcoa Kiwanis offered to assist, and RAM took them up on it. But the medical group didn’t realize just how much help they were being offered.

“They said we probably can come up with some water. We said, ‘We’re Kiwanis of Alcoa. We’re a pretty good representation of the community. We can do more than that. We want to help support you guys while you’re here.’”

So the Kiwanis Clubs of Blount County are jointly sponsoring the clinic. Holbert said members have been holding organizational meetings. Hotels have volunteered to house professional volunteers coming from out of state, and restaurants have also offered to help.

“The community has been great,” Holbert said.

Since its founding in 1985, RAM has provided services at over 525 health expeditions both in the United States and overseas. On average, the group conducts one expedition per month in various communities through the Southeast.

RAM was recently featured on the CBS program “60 Minutes,” that highlighted its work in the U.S.

Among the medical services RAM will offer in Blount County are specialist exams, diabetes screenings and education, cholesterol screenings, breast exams, mammograms and medication assistance.

In the dental area, teeth cleaning, fillings and extractions will be performed.
Complete eye exams will be available in the optical area. Additionally, eye glasses will be made on site, though RAM cannot guarantee glasses will be made for everyone.

The two-day clinic is available to all surrounding counties in Tennessee.