RAM clinic saves patients thousands of dollars
Remote Area Medical’s Butler clinic, held at Butler Intermediate High School on Nov. 8 and 9, provided over $282,000 in health care for patients in need of various services.
“It was a huge scope of work by the professionals and volunteers,” SaraBeth Swain with Concordia Lutheran Ministries said. “We surpassed our numbers for the 2023 clinic we held. The patient count was close but the impact of the cost of health care, we delivered more.”
Swain said the weekend-long clinic saw 368 patients show up to receive care. Throughout the weekend over 400 volunteers participated.
Remote Area Medical is a nationwide network of volunteer-led, pop-up clinics providing free medical, dental and eye care, including to those without insurance. Concordia Lutheran Services co-hosted the clinic.
Volunteers spent hours on Friday setting up stations for medical professionals to provide services to those in need. Some patients may not have received needed medical care in a long time. Various patients at the free clinic said the event made a huge impact, serving as a connection to quality care that isn’t always available.
“On Saturday we had people waiting overnight. They were waiting at the door,” Swain said. “Sunday was a little slower as far as patients that were there, but we were able to provide additional services. For example, on Saturday you could pick dental or vision, but on Sunday we were more relaxed and able to give individuals access to all three, providers who were on sight with not long waits.”
Swain said medical care provided included physicals, general evaluations, women's health services, reviewing prescriptions for people and more.
“We had a team of physical therapists on site doing things like lower back pain screenings and fall risk assessments,” Swain said. “And the great part about the medical services, if there was any need that couldn’t be met, we could refer patients to the Jean B. Purvis Community Health Center for follow up care. We couldn’t do it without their partnership.”
Professionals from local practices spent hours providing care for free. E. Ahono Gildersleeve, a dentist, said, while some patients live around Butler, others traveled from as far away as Pittsburgh or Clarion.
“I went with my father, Dr. Donald Brockley, and six current dental students from my dental school, Touro College of Dental Medicine. There were also University of Pittsburgh dental students in attendance providing dental care too,” Gildersleeve said.
