Manatee County schools to help transport indigent patients from Bradenton's Pirate City to RAM clinic on S.R. 70
MANATEE -- Alison Benker of Bradenton wants to get three teeth extracted and her ailing feet treated over the weekend at the Remote Area Medical clinic at Manatee Technical College but was worried she couldn't get there.
Because large crowds are anticipated, tickets to the two-day event will be given out at 3 a.m. Saturday and Sunday for the clinics that start at 6 a.m. each day at 6305 State Road 70. E., Bradenton. The clinics will offer free dental services with cleanings and extractions as well as free eye exams and eye-glasses and many free medical exams.
"How are people like me supposed to get transportation at 3 a.m?" Benker asked in an email Wednesday. "I have no car. I cannot afford Obamacare. Medicaid is not available, either, for me. I am taking care of my 85-year-old father, three dogs and living on food stamps."
Benker can still take a Manatee County Area Transit bus on Friday or all day Saturday, but she will have to plan to camp out at the site.
If Benker decides to use MCAT, the best she can do is take the bus at 6:30 p.m. Friday which will have her arriving at MTC at 6:50 p.m. She will have an eight-hour wait to get her ticket for services.
She could also take the 6:10 a.m. Saturday bus from DeSoto Station, which will get her to the clinic at 6:30 a.m., but she will have missed the ticket give-out by more than three hours and may still have to wait until 3 a.m. to get a ticket for service, unless space is still available. MCAT does not run on Sunday.
The Manatee County School District has agreed to help bus doctors, volunteers, homeless and needy patients from Pirate City to the RAM site.
Many of the visiting doctors are staying in the dorms at Pirate City, said Doug Wagner, director of adult, career and technical education and director of MTC and part of the RAM leadership team,
"It is just one bus, but they will pick up whoever is standing out there," Wagner said. "They won't turn anyone away."
One 55-seat Manatee school bus will make six runs from Pirate City, 1701 27th St. E., Bradenton to MTC, according to Jason Harris of the school district.
The runs are at 4 a.m., 4:45 a.m., 5:30 a.m., 6:15 a.m., 7 a.m. and 7:45 a.m, both Saturday and Sunday, Harris said.
For the return trip, one bus will also make six trips to Pirate City from MTC. The runs are at 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. both days, Harris said.
Pirate City is about four miles from the Salvation Army's Men's Shelter at 1204 14th St. W., Bradenton, and from Turning Points where many homeless gather at 701 17th Ave. W., Bradenton.
Benker, who receives $400 a month, has no extra money for a cab, she said.
"I've been reading the articles about this clinic for two days but what about the people like me who fall through the cracks?" Benker asked. "And the elderly, who have no transportation? I'm in my mid-50s, have three teeth that need to be extracted, and my feet have been diagnosed as collapsed arches.
"I have my teeth draining and I can only stand on my feet three hours a day working," Benker added. "That's it. I would love to have my teeth and feet checked."
Organizers of the RAM event several months ago were concerned about how the homeless and those without vehicles would get to RAM, Dr. Richard Conard, RAM event chairman, said Thursday. But Manatee County Area Transit could not change bus schedules to operate after 8 p.m. or on Sunday, Conard said.
The bus will drive on the grounds of MTC and not just stop by the highway to drop people off, said Ryan Suarez, planning manager in transit division.
The Salvation Army also couldn't supply a bus from its homeless shelter to RAM, Christine Smith, a Salvation Army spokeswoman, said Thursday.
"The Salvation Army was not able to do that because our vans are tied up with our Red Kettle campaign," Smith said.
In other RAM news, on Thursday afternoon at MTC, Aimee Blenker, destination sales manager for the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau and the RAM hospitality chair, put together 100 goody bags for volunteers coming in for RAM from all over the country. The bags will include a snack bar, toothpaste, toothbrushes, area visitor's guides and glass cleaner, Blenker said. The bags are a small token of appreciation for being part of the event.
Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.
This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Manatee County schools to help transport indigent patients from Bradenton's Pirate City to RAM clinic on S.R. 70 ."