Remote Area Medical - the largest nongovernmental provider of mobile medical clinics delivering free high-quality dental, vision and medical care to underserved and uninsured individuals, children and families is coming back to Chilhowee Park’s Jacob Building located at 3301 East Magnolia Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee. RAM’s 900th clinic will operate from Wednesday, January 31 through Sunday, February 4. All services are free and no insurance or ID is required.

“We are facing a serious crisis and it is not just poor folks who are suffering,” said RAM Founder and President Stan Brock. “Washington continues to debate the cost of health care, the costs continue to rise, and our numbers are not getting any lower.”

Patient parking for the Knoxville clinic will be located on-site and will open at 12 a.m. midnight on Wednesday, January 31. Ticket distribution will begin at 3 a.m., and patients will be seen in chronological order according to their ticket number as clinic doors open at 6 a.m. This process will repeat each clinic day. Services available include dental cleanings, dental fillings, dental extractions, dental x-rays, dentures (on a limited basis), eye exams, eyeglass prescriptions, free eyeglasses made on-site, women's health exams, and general medical exams. Patients of the Knoxville RAM clinic will be able to register their unaltered household pets for free spay/neuter surgery. Pets should not be taken to the RAM clinic.

Data from the Appalachian Regional Commission shows that Appalachian communities, like Knoxville and other nearby areas, face serious disadvantages that negatively affect the health of their residents. In Knoxville alone, poverty rates typically exceed the national average, and there is a disproportionately higher prevalence of poor health and chronic health conditions, as well as a general lack of access to health services and health insurance. Due to these factors, RAM and its corps of volunteers expect to treat more than 2,500 people during the five-day clinic.

Founded in 1985, Brock’s original vision was for RAM to serve as a safety net provider of free medical care in remote areas of developing countries, such as Guyana, Mexico, and Haiti. Almost immediately after beginning operations, he began receiving requests to operate medical clinics in the United States. This inspired him to operate the first RAM clinic on May 9, 1992 in Sneedville, Tennessee. In December of 1990, Hancock County, Tennessee lost its last dental care provider and by 1992 the county’s only hospital closed its doors. Soon after, RAM recruited two dentists, two dental assistants, and a registered nurse to help provide dental aid to the area’s residents. Brock and the RAM volunteers loaded two 400-pound dental chairs in the back of a pick-up truck and drove some 70 miles to Sneedville, where they expected to treat a handful of people. When they arrived to the site of the clinic, over 50 people were already waiting to receive care. In 1993, RAM returned to Hancock County for its second American clinic and for seven additional clinics in East Tennessee.

“We are living in a catastrophic era” said Brock. “Congress must add dental and vision care to their health care proposal, and if they don’t, the least they could do is allow doctors to cross state lines.”

In true volunteer spirit, State Senator Bud Gilbert reached out to Stan Brock in 1993 and asked what he could do to help prevent pain and alleviate suffering to Tennesseans. Two years later, the state’s legislature enacted the Volunteer Healthcare Services Act of 1995 and became the first state in the nation to allow medical practitioners with out-of-state licenses to provide care to those in need. Since then, 11 other states have enacted similar legislation, but this leaves 38 states that still prohibit medical practitioners to provide these services on a volunteer basis.

“We really do rely on the kindness and generosity of medical, dental, and vision practitioners and the public at large to help provide free care to folks in need, ” said RAM Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Eastman. “We couldn’t have possibly provided free care to almost a million people without our volunteers.”

In 2017, RAM experienced a 33% percent increase in the number of patients it treated at its clinics. This includes patients who attended clinics in large metropolitan areas such as in Houston, TX, and clinics that were held after hurricanes devastated the mainland and the Caribbean, such as Puerto Rico where RAM finished its year strong by operating five clinics in the western part of the island.

For more information about RAM, or to schedule an interview or phone call with Mr. Brock or other RAM personnel, email [email protected] or call 865-862-5907.

About Remote Area Medical: RAM is the largest nongovernmental organization that operates mobile medical clinics delivering free high-quality dental, vision, and medical services to underserved and uninsured individuals who do not have access to or cannot afford a doctor. RAM’s Corps of more than 120,000 Humanitarian Volunteers is comprised of licensed dental, vision, and medical professionals who have treated more than 740,000 women, men, and children delivering $120 million worth of free health care services.