RAM bringing 'M*A*S*H-like' care to Manatee's needy

MANATEE -- Glen Gibellina drove from his Bradenton home to Ooltewah, in the southeast corner of Tennessee, to volunteer at a medical clinic for under-insured and non-insured people with medical needs.

What he saw in September 2014 changed his life forever.

"I was overwhelmed by the pain and suffering in the richest country in the world," Gibellina said.

A picture he took shows 100 or so patients being treated on Ooltewah High School's basketball court.

Some people were getting their teeth cleaned or pulled; others were getting their eyes examined.

His photograph captures doctors treating people as they laid on beds in a long row. A fancy waiting area or private treatment room is nowhere to be seen.

Gibellina called the sight of so many needy people in America "a wake up call."

"I looked around and thought, 'I'm in a third world country,' " Gibellina said.

The clinic Gibellina had gone to visit in Tennessee was put on by Remote Area Medical USA, commonly known as RAM USA.

RAM is coming to Manatee County Saturday and Sunday. The free clinic will be at Manatee Technical College, 6305 S.R. 70 E., beginning at 6 a.m. both days.

It won't be as cramped as the gym in Tennessee because all the hallways will be used, Gibellina said.

Local officials estimate Manatee's medically needy population at 2,000 to 2,500, but they have no idea how many people will show up for care this weekend.

"I fear we could turn a few hundred away," Gibellina said.

Hundreds of volunteers

RAM will serve patients on a first-come, first-served basis with no criteria for service, said Bradenton's Dr. Richard Conard, whom Gibellina successfully recruited to help convince local leaders to get behind the clinic.

At Gibellina's insistence, Conard joined Gibellina on several volunteer trips to RAM clinics out of state.

"We took his car," Gibellina said. "He didn't feel my 20-year-old Saturn would make it."

There are 683 local volunteers signed up to help hundreds of local volunteer medical professionals, a massive show of support, said Lori Dengler, a nurse practitioner with Tidewell Hospice who volunteered to be RAM's Florida chairwoman of volunteers.

"I feel blessed to be a part of it," Dengler said. "I think there is just a big need out there."

Among local professionals, Aimee Blenker is chairwoman of hospitality and lodging. Dr. Bill Colgate at MCR Healthservices is chairman of medical and Dr. Linda Christmann is chairwoman of vision. Brenda Ware of Manatee Technical College is chairwoman of dental.

"Without the collaboration of Dr. Conard and Doug Wagner from Manatee Technical College, and the team that these two professionals assembled, this would still be an idea rolling around in my head," Gibellina said.

Walgreens donated more than $75,000 in health care services including 2,500 flu shots, Conard said.

Dentist Scott Maloney eagerly jumped on the volunteer bandwagon as did eye doctors from The Eye Associates of Bradenton, Conard said.

Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore said she signed up to volunteer both days just to help any way she can.

"This is the one opportunity for some of these patients to be in a place where everything is so they don't have to weed through a ton of bureaucracy to get a lot of services," Whitmore said. "I have no idea what I will be doing, but I will do whatever they need."

Dengler is taking local calls about RAM and they are eye-opening, she said.

"A number of people have told me they have insurance or Medicare that covers their eye exam, but they can't afford their eyeglasses," Dengler said. "Or they tell me they can afford to get their teeth cleaned but can't afford the copayment to get their teeth pulled."

A lot of people think patients coming to RAM are unemployed, but that's not what she is hearing.

"These are working people who are paycheck to paycheck and can't afford their co-pays or deductibles," Dengler said.

People who have questions about RAM can call Dengler at 941-526-4766 or email her at ramfl@gmail.com, she said.

Tickets start at 3 a.m.

Tickets will be given out to clients starting at 3 a.m. for appointments that start at 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, Conard said.

On Thursday, 45-foot tractor-trailers filled with medical equipment will come rolling into Manatee County.

The clinic will have doctors, dentists, optometrists, nurses, opticians and dental hygienists.

"There will be 100 dental stations," Conard said. "There will be 35 to 40 visual stations. There will be medical stations. There will be vehicles where they are making glasses outside. There will be vehicles for X-rays. There will be laboratories."

Patients can get their teeth cleaned and cavities filled as well as extractions. They can get free vision services, including free glasses made on site, eye exams and testing for glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.

Doctors will do breast exams, diabetes screening, physicals and women's health exams.

Volunteer dentists will do cleaning, fillings and extractions, Conard said.

The medical doctors will do physical exams and will have laboratory capability right there, he added.

Led by its founder and current president Stan Brock, RAM has put on nearly 800 clinic events, both nationally and internationally.

The organization has served more than 700,000 patients and given nearly $100 million in free care, Gibellina said.

"I was amazed by the size of Stan Brock's operation in Tennessee," Gibellina said.

RAM will haul portable dental chairs, generators, beds and other equipment to Manatee County.

"People can come and just watch them unload, but stay out of their way," Gibellina added.

At Ooltewah High School, the football team unloaded the trucks.

In Manatee, it will be Doug Wagner's student body at Manatee Technical College, including students from welding, cosmetology and others career fields.

Gibellina and others predict patients will begin coming to Manatee Technical College Friday afternoon and camp out for Saturday and Sunday.

"In Tennessee, I saw them sleeping in tents on the concrete road, some even two days before," Gibellina said.

Gibellina said RAM has already agreed to return to Manatee County next year.

"I want people to know we are here to help and that RAM will be back next year and every year," Gibellina said. "If this is successful, it will continue."

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.

IF YOU GO

What: Free medical care to be given with no questions asked by physicians, dentists, optometrists, nurses and opticians. Dentists will do cleaning, fillings and extractions; free glasses will be made on site; free testing for glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy; free breast exams, diabetes screening, physicals and women's health exams.

When: Patients are seen beginning 6 a.m. Nov. 21-22. Tickets are handed out beginning at 3 a.m. each day on a first-come, first-served basis.

Where: Manatee Technical College, 6305 S.R. 70 E., Bradenton

This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 5:23 PM with the headline "RAM bringing 'M*A*S*H-like' care to Manatee's needy ."