KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. — Medical, dental and vision professionals willing to give their time are needed for the 2nd Annual Remote Area Medical and West Virginia Health Right Free Clinic which is scheduled for Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 in Kanawha County.
Treatment at no costs will be available on those days for anyone who needs health services, regardless of income or insurance, at Bible Center School in Charleston, located off Route 119 in Charleston.
“Last year, we saw 500 people. It has the potential to see about 2,000 people based on how many volunteers that we get,” said Dr. Angie Settle, CEO and executive director of West Virginia Health Right.
Volunteers can sign up HERE.
For potential patients, services will be provided on a first come, first served basis. Doors open at 6 a.m. each day and patients will be seen in numerical ticket orders. Ticket distributions begin at 3 a.m. on both days.
Basic services available will include the following:
DENTAL: Cleaning, fillings, extractions
VISION: Complete dilated eye exams, testing for glaucoma, testing for diabetic retinopathy, glasses made on site
MEDICAL: General medicine
PREVENTION: Breast exams, diabetes screening, physicals, women’s health
EDUCATION: Resources and information are provided throughout service areas
Availability of specialists will depend on the numbers and experience levels of volunteers.
It’s open to “anybody in need in West Virginia,” Settle said. “Pretty much, they have no questions asked. They assume if you’re there that you’re in need and we take care of you.”
Settle said her hope is that the event continues to grow every year.
“We had a lady last year that hadn’t been able to afford glasses for the past ten years and she was there with her child and she cried because she could finally see well and she’d been driving and doing things she really shouldn’t have been doing,” she recalled.
The address for Bible Center School is 1111 Oakhurst Drive, Charleston. It’s located near the Ashton Place Kroger.
Additional patient information about the RAM and West Virginia Health Right Free Clinic is posted HERE.
Established as a nonprofit in 1985, Remote Area Medical’s mission is to “prevent pain and alleviate suffering by providing free quality healthcare to those in need,” particularly those who are “impoverished, isolated and underserved.”
Other sites where free clinics will be held this October include Grundy, Va., Baltimore, Md., Pahrump, Nev., Moultrie, Ga. and Garden Grove, Ca.
The 2016 location in West Virginia, the first year for the clinic, was Elkview Middle School in northern Kanawha County.