RAM clinic provides healthcare that may otherwise go unchecked
BUTLER TWP — Cassidy Malarkey, 23, said she and her husband pulled into the parking lot at Butler Intermediate High School at around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, so that they and their 1-year-old son, Robert, could receive dental care.
The Remote Area Medical clinic was scheduled to open at 6 a.m. that day, and Malarkey was just one patient who spent the night in the parking lot to get in line for the free clinic.
“To have this on the weekend, when you don’t have to work, this has just been really helpful,” Malarkey said.
Lynn McKinnis, a physical therapist and coordiantor for the Butler County clinic, said that when the clinic was last held in 2023, over 300 people showed up. Remote Area Medical is a nationwide network of volunteer-led, pop-up clinics providing free medical, dental, and eye care to those of limited means, including those without insurance.
According to McKinnis, the clinic had already seen about as many people who attended over the entire weekend in 2023 by the middle of the day Nov. 8.
McKinnis said that when volunteers started leaving the school after setting up on Friday, patients were already parked outside to spend the night.
Various patients at the free clinic for dental, vision and medical care said the event made a huge impact, serving as a connection to quality care that isn’t always available. Issues such as having making appointments months in advance; inability to skip work and miss out on pay; and a need to deal with medical problems urgently, were cited as reasons for people attending the clinic.
“People want quality care. But people who are living paycheck to paycheck, they can’t afford their copay,” Malarkey said. “My husband needed teeth pulled, he (her son) needed looked at. This has been huge for us.”
Clinics put on by Remote Area Medical do not require insurance or identification, part of the nonprofit’s mission to reach those in need with limited access to health care.
Previously, McKinnis said there would be more than 50 doctors and 200 other volunteers present from Pennsylvania and beyond. Volunteers spent hours on Friday turning gymnasiums and hallways into areas for dental and vision treatment, as well as areas to provide other health-related resources.
“I was working at the Hampton Inn and checking everyone in, one of the drivers told me I should come, and I said, ‘why not.’ Because I don’t have insurance anyways,” said Ashley Wolf, of Butler. “I haven’t gotten new glasses in over four years, so I figured this would be good.”
The clinic was the perfect opportunity for some people to get their eyes and teeth checked after putting concerns off for years.
“I can’t live without my glasses. And it would be very challenging if I had to go get new glasses,” Wolf said, “$13 an hour is not livable. Once I got through the parking lot, I’ve been in this room about 45 minutes. It’s worth the wait.”
Doctors and volunteers said they saw a range in age of patients, who come from all walks of life, that showed up for Saturday’s clinic, driving from hours away in some instances. The need for more healthcare access, they said, is everywhere.
“We’ve been getting people local, people from Pittsburgh, from Clarion or even farther,” E. Ahono Gildersleeve, a dentist with Brockley Dental Center, said. “There’s clearly a big need.”
At the clinic, patients could take eye exams and even receive brand new glasses if they were needed.
“Most of the people I’ve seen today haven’t had an eye exam in 10 years, and it’s because they don’t have insurance,” Sam Flori, an optometrist from York, said. “So to be able to not only do the comprehensive eye exam, dilating these patients, and then they’re getting new eye wear on sight, it’s incredible.”
Dental care provided included a lot of extractions, fillings and cleanings for those who had not received dental care in years, Gildersleeve said.
“A lot of people don’t have dental insurance, it’s not guaranteed. So people will neglect their teeth until they start to hurt, and by that point, there’s a lot of issues going on there,” Gildersleeve said. “We have been busy, and we’re going to be busy the rest of the day and into tomorrow, and we’re just trying to give people quality care, take care of them.”
Remote Area Medical leaders have said that amid the lack access to healthcare so many face, its clinics are not meant to be a solution, but a Band-Aid. David Morales, a clinic coordinator for Remote Area Medical, said his organization had clinics happening in four other states Saturday, in addition to the one taking place in Butler.
“It’s been pretty busy today, but I would say it’s going pretty well so far. The only reason why we exist is because of this need, and pretty much everywhere we go there is a need.” Morales said. “Dental and vision are the biggest things we see, because of the fact that even people who have insurance, they don’t cover vision or dental.”
Remote Area Medical was scheduled to continue seeing patients starting at 6 a.m. on Sunday.
