PARIS, IL (Chambana Today) — A large-scale free medical clinic is returning to Edgar County next month, offering dental, vision and medical services to anyone in need — no insurance, identification or payment required.
The Remote Area Medical clinic, organized in partnership with Longview Bank and the Longview Foundation, will take place June 13 and 14 at Remote Area Medical inside Paris High School.
Cam Pepper, Marketing Manager for Longview Bank, said the clinic is designed to remove barriers for people who have delayed care because of cost or lack of insurance coverage.
“We don’t ask for insurance. We don’t ask for payment,” Pepper said during a recent interview on Focus radio. “Actually, you don’t even have to give us your name really or have an ID. We’re open to anybody.”
To hear the entire interview, click here: Stream episode Focus – RAM MEDICAL CLINIC PARIS HIGH SCHOOL_01 by Illini Media Group podcast | Listen online for free on SoundCloud
The nationwide nonprofit operates pop-up clinics across the country and held its first Paris event last year. Pepper said the local clinic was only the third RAM event ever hosted in Illinois at the time.
Organizers said patients often travel hours for the opportunity to receive care. One man drove from Missouri after learning about the clinic through previous military volunteer work with RAM decades earlier.
“He came on Friday, helped unload the trucks, stayed in his car Friday night, got his dental work done Saturday morning and then went back to Lake of the Ozarks,” Pepper said.
The clinic will provide services ranging from dental extractions and eye exams to women’s health screenings and general medical care. RAM’s mobile eyeglass lab will also be onsite, allowing many patients to receive prescription glasses within hours.
“We had a 90-year-old woman who had not had an eye exam or a new pair of glasses in 10 years,” Pepper said. “It was beautiful to watch her trying on glasses and realizing she was going to be able to see again.”
Pepper said untreated dental problems remain one of the biggest needs the clinic addresses.
“We had several people whose teeth were so bad they needed full teeth extractions,” he said. “A young man in his 20s had been quoted $6,000 for dental work locally.”
The Longview Foundation later helped pay for dentures for some patients after their recovery period, Pepper added.
Last year’s event served roughly 168 patients and provided more than $150,000 in free medical care, according to organizers.
Pepper credited Longview Capital Corporation Chairman David Albin for helping bring RAM to Central Illinois.
“If we can alleviate somebody’s pain and make them feel a little bit better and not have the worry of how am I going to pay for this, it’s just a great thing,” Pepper said.
The clinic operates on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking opens at midnight before each clinic day, with patients receiving numbers as they arrive. Doors open at 6 a.m.
Organizers are also seeking volunteers, especially dentists, interpreters and people able to assist with intake and registration.
“We can help more people, but we need volunteers,” Pepper said. “The volunteers are the backbone of this.”
More information about volunteering or receiving services is available through Remote Area Medical.