Over the years, I have written a few short posts to alert the public about Remote Area Medical events, and I am doing so again today shortly before the latest opportunity for hundreds of Oklahomans to receive free health care without regard to insurance, income or immigration status.
RAM holds free clinics around the globe, and they are offering free dental, vision and medical care to anyone who needs it Saturday, May 6, and Sunday, May 7, in Tulsa at the SageNet Center on the Tulsa State Fairgrounds, 4145 E. 21st St.
This care is provided by volunteer professionals on a first-come, first-served basis, and all people are eligible. Dental services can include cleanings, fillings, extractions and X-rays. Vision services can include eye exams, glaucoma testing and prescription eyeglasses made on site. Medical doctors are also available at the events.
Clinic doors open at 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Additional details about access and services are available here.
Patients can receive life-changing care
In full disclosure, I used to organize and coordinate Remote Area Medical’s events in Oklahoma. I hosted three RAM events in OKC in 2010, 2012 and 2014, and I have volunteered at RAM events around the country and in Oklahoma communities: Durant (twice), Idabel and Weatherford (twice).
This year, I am sad to realize I don’t think I have the time and energy to travel to Tulsa this weekend for RAM’s first clinic there. With many education and health care questions hanging in the balance of a stalled Oklahoma Legislature, I’m just hoping I have enough in the tank to handle the next three weeks. It will be the first Oklahoma clinic I have missed.
Still, I decided the least I could do is make a brief post alerting people to the possibility that they, their friends and their families can access free dental, vision and medical services this weekend. I’ve seen these services change people’s lives, and I hope you will consider sharing these details with people you know who might be in need.
Anyone interested in volunteering for the May 6-7 Remote Area Medical clinic in Tulsa can sign up here. As always, dental and vision professionals are the most important volunteers at these clinics, so if you fall in one of those categories please consider donating your time.
More information for patients of RAM clinics can be found here.
