<<number calling over bull horn>>
Around noon on the first day of the clinic, many people were
still waiting for their number to be called.
AUDIO: "We got here at Five o'clock. Four
o'clock. Six o'clock. Six, seven too. Seven, but
it seems like it's moving really fast."
They were waiting to receive free
medical care. AUDIO: "Dental and Vision. I need eyeglasses.
I'm really sick and I need a filling. Dental, Vision, and
acupuncture."
Everyone's eligible, and it's all free of charge. Some
say they don't qualify for Medical or Medicaid. Many say they
don't have insurance. Others are like Laurie Erickson.
"I do have insurance," Erickson said. "But mine is a
high deductible. I mean I can't have the small things because
I have to pay the high deductible before the insurance kicks
in."
The Remote Area Medical Clinic, or RAM, is increasingly
being
used to treat Americans where
they live. But RAM was originally designed to establish
emergency medical facilities in a remote area, often after a
disaster.
used to treat Americans where
they live. But RAM was originally designed to establish
emergency medical facilities in a remote area, often after a
disaster. "Remote Area Medical has gone to Haiti. They've been overseas a lot. And they found that there really was a need in their own back yard," Congdon said.
Pam Congdon is the Executive Director of the California
Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. She says she
decided to organize a Sacramento clinic after volunteering in a Los
Angeles clinic last year.
"I saw what it did for all of the patients and all of the
volunteers," Congdon said. "So I invited RAM to come to
Northern California to provide the same service since we've had so
many budget cuts. They're either underinsured or
non-insured."
Congdon says the clinics are
staffed by volunteers and funded by donations. She says
nearly three thousand people volunteered to assist the Sacramento
clinic, which treated more than a thousand people a
day. Most of them left grateful.
AUDIO: "It's great, great. Everyone in there is
great. It's a great program. Even gave us some
goodies. By the way give me my goodies."