This year’s Remote Area Medical clinic will occur on March 22 and 23, with free healthcare services, including physicals, dental work, and optometry exams provided to anyone who needs them.
Tennessee Technological University is busy preparing for its annual Remote Area Medical clinic, which this year is being held on March 22 and 23. The medical clinic provides services all weekend at Cookeville High School, including physicals, dental exams, and eye exams. These services are provided to anyone in need of them for free, by licensed medical and health professionals. The efforts are coordinated by Tennessee Tech students every year, who receive valuable hands-on patient care experiences.
According to an article on Tennessee Technological University’s website, Sarah Beshara, a biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology major who plans to become a dentist, is serving as the student lead for this year’s Remote Area Medical Clinic. She explained her involvement with the event, saying, “I’ve been involved with the RAM clinic since I came to the university, and I’m excited to be the student lead this year – but it’s a lot of work. Patients arrive at all hours during the scheduled weekend to be seen by doctors, dentists and optometrists, so we must have volunteers 24/7. As an aspiring healthcare professional, I knew this was a service I wanted to help provide. For many of the people who attend the RAM clinic as patients, though, it’s often the only care they get all year.”
Individuals who wish to receive the free services provided at Cookeville High School from the Remote Area Medical Clinic are encouraged to line up in the school’s parking lot on Friday night or Saturday night to ensure they will be able to be seen by the volunteer physicians, nurses, and dentists, and they may need to wait in their cars overnight. No one will be charged for the services provided, and no one will have to provide identification in order to receive care. Each person who checks in will receive a physical, and can choose to receive dental care or eye care in addition.
Myriad volunteers come together to make the Remote Area Medical Clinic possible year after year. The volunteer healthcare providers come from regional medical facilities, nursing students and nutrition students offer their time to assist with triage and meal preparation, and many others come together to help with parking, sanitation, and additional assistance.
Last year, the Remote Area Medical Clinic provided more than $340,000 worth of care at no cost to anyone. It provided 161 pairs of glasses, 178 fillings, and 523 tooth extractions.
The funding to make this free healthcare clinic possible comes from student fundraising. Beshara said, “It was the most successful fundraising year in the clinic’s history.”
The clinic secured two grants for the first time ever, including the Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation’s UCEMC Cares Grant and a grant from mental health foundation Just One More. Funding also came from the Golden Helix 5K race and from Faithful Waymakers, which allowed students involved with the Remote Area Medical Clinic to work concessions stands at local venues to raise money.
For more information about Tennessee Technological University, visit the school’s website.