FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Bob Beard
(434) 942-4490
U.Va. HEALTH SYSTEM STAFF VOLUNTEERING FOR FREE MEDICAL CLINIC IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
One of the most scenic places in America, Southwest Virginia boasts rolling views of the Appalachian Mountains, babbling brooks and several peaks from which onlookers can marvel at the wonders below. What this view does not reveal is the swelling number of people without access to healthcare or the insurance to pay for it.
To address this need, the University of Virginia Health System, in partnership with the Remote Area Medical Corp, the Lions Club, the Virginia Dental Association, St. Mary’s Health Wagon, the Lenowisco Health District and other groups from Virginia and beyond, will provide healthcare to an expected 6,000 people who will line up before dawn to enter the Virginia-Kentucky Fairgrounds in Wise, Virginia.
This event is the 5th annual Remote Area Medical (RAM) Clinic and it happens on Friday, July 23 through Sunday, July 25 at the Fairgrounds. The hours will be from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 6 a.m. to noon on Sunday.
This year, 111 physicians, nurses, lab technicians, pharmacists and radiologists from U.Va. will voluntarily go to the region and be a part of one of the nation’s largest public health outreach efforts. In addition to procedures like mammography, colon cancer screening and ultrasound exams, U.Va. will offer some medical services for the first time. These include: a special hearing test that delivers words – not just tones – to more accurately diagnose hearing loss; retina screening using telemedicine technology, which will allow U.Va. physicians to diagnose certain eye disorders; and some minor gynecological procedures.
“At this event we give more than just cursory health screenings,” said David Cattell-Gordon, Director of Community Relations at the U.Va. Health System. “Not only is this group able to diagnose patients who come, but they also can offer treatment for certain conditions in a way that meets the needs.”
“Southwest Virginia is a medically underserved area where there are barely enough primary care physicians to care for the total population and almost no specialty care,” said Dr. Claudette Dalton, assistant dean of Community-based Medical Education at U.Va. and coordinator of the University's volunteers. “Our goal is not only to deliver the requestedservices needed once a year, but to eventually be able to give these services on an ongoing basis.”
The Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic was started in 1999 by Sister Bernie Kenny, a Catholic nun and family nurse practitioner who also has served in Ethiopia and Tanzania. For more information about the clinic, please call Dr. Claudette Dalton at 434-924-2629 or Sister Bernie Kenny at 276-835-1300. If you would like to cover this event, please contact the Public Relations office.
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July 16, 2004