A Manatee County community rallying point over indigent care thanks to Remote Area Medical
Manatee County will be blessed this weekend with a community effort to provide free medical care to the needy, including prescription eyeglasses, dental work (teeth cleaning, fillings and extractions), diabetes screenings, breast exams, retinopathy testing, physicals and more. All free, even the X-rays and laboratory work. Organizers expect to be able to serve up to 2,000 Manatee residents.
This tremendous service has been arranged by the Remote Area Medical USA, a visiting, nationally known clinic. RAM, founded in 1985 by Stan Brock, the former host of the TV series "Wild Kingdom," makes its Florida debut Saturday and Sunday at Manatee Technical College.
The philanthropic organization has staged nearly 800 events over the years, both nationally and internationally, serving more than 700,000 patients and providing almost $100 million in free health care.
RAM's impressive record led Manatee County Dr. Richard Conard and Glen Gibellina to convince the organization to come here, and cheers to their success.
The sheer size of the Manatee effort is staggering. A small army of some 700 local physicians, dentists, optometrists, other medical providers and volunteers will staff clinics along all the hallways on MTC's first floor. Some 100 dental stations and around 40 visual stations are just of portion of those clinics. Outside, several large tents and trucks filled with clinic equipment will provide additional services.
Patients are expected to start gathering outside MTC at Friday, and tickets for clients will be distributed starting at 3 a.m. Saturday. Appointments begin at 6 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. This is a first-come, first-serve event with no criteria for health care.
Besides the hundreds of volunteers, the community stepped up in other ways, too. Walgreens donated more than $75,000 in medical services, including 2,500 flu shots. Two anonymous donors and a large group of sponsors contributed more than that figure.
Vouchers will handed out for free mammography and breast exams at Manatee Diagnostic Center. The Salvation Army is mobilizing to prepare and provide thousands of bagged lunches for the clients.
Plus, volunteer organizations will provide public education to encourage RAM participants to adopt a more comprehensive continuum of care -- a key to avoiding more serious conditions by practicing preventive medicine and healthier lifestyles.
And MRS Health Services, formerly Manatee County Rural Health, committed to providing follow-up services over the next few weeks at its 14 health centers, though an application must be completed either before or after services due to federal requirements.
With the county's large population of uninsured and underinsured residents; the current challenge of funding indigent care embroiling Manatee government and health care providers, and the county pursuing the development of a health care plan for the poor, RAM arrives at an ideal time.
Medical attention for thousands of uninsured and underinsured residents over the weekend will help ease the indigent care burden on hospitals and physicians, at least in the short term and hopefully longer if patients take advantage of the health education opportunities.
This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "A Manatee County community rallying point over indigent care thanks to Remote Area Medical ."