FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Mary Jane Gore, 434-924-9241
mjgore@virginia.edu
UVa Volunteers Bring Vital Medical Care to Southwest Virginia
Charlottesville, Va., July 25, 2006 -- Thousands of people from Southwest Virginia and neighboring states are expected to line up before dawn for free health care this week. Many of them lack health insurance and for many it will be their only visit to a doctor or dentist each year. Dozens of physicians, nurses, lab technicians, pharmacists, emergency medical technicians and other employees of the University of Virginia Health System will spend three days providing free medical services to an expected 3,500 people at the Virginia-Kentucky Fairgrounds in Wise, Virginia.
The event is the 7th annual Remote Area Medical (RAM) Clinic, which will be open Friday, July 28, through Sunday, July 30, 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.
The stream of people who come to this clinic - one of the nation's largest public health outreach efforts - illustrates the problem of access to affordable health care for those who have no insurance or are under-insured. The geographic isolation of the area continues to be a major barrier to care. Gov. Tim Kaine plans to attend this clinic on the opening day, Friday, July 28.
This year, UVa is providing two new services at this outdoor site: digital mammography and neurological screening. In addition, UVa staff will offer colon cancer screening, flexible sigmoidoscopies, retinal screening using telemedicine technology, ENT services and audiology, gynecological procedures, and comprehensive screening for diabetes and hypertension. To aid in this effort, physicians will be using retinascopes that take pictures of patient's eyes to determine the degree of deterioration as the result of a diabetic complication.
Many different people work to bring this complex event to the Wise location. Among these unsung heroes are the social workers who plan year-long for the event. "The clinical social workers are the front line professionals who meet the patients, assess the needs and work to understand the considerable number of health, psychological and social problems faced by many who attend the RAM Clinic," says Noel Dianas-Hughes, manager of the Department of Social Work at UVa Health System.
The UVa Medical Center team will be joining other volunteers from the Remote Area Medical Corp., several Lions Clubs, the Virginia Dental Association, St. Mary's Health Wagon, the Leonwisco Health District and others. The RAM Clinic at Wise was started in 1999 by Sister Bernie Kenny, a Catholic nun and family nurse practitioner. If you would like to cover this event, including the departure of the UVa team volunteers on vans from the Cage area of University Hall at 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 27, please contact the Public Relations office at 434-924-9241 in advance.
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