Today I had the pleasure of receiving services from Remote Area Medical that was stationed at the FORUM in Inglewood, California. They were offering free medical, dental, and vision services to the medically under-served Los Angeles population from August 11 through August 18, 2009. After I had advertised their volunteer opportunities all over Facebook and placing their information in a church bulletin, I found myself making the decision to go to their temporary facility to receive services… and I’m so grateful that I went!
It was advertised all over the news and online that there were no more wristbands left to issue to those wishing to be admitted to receive their free services, but after receiving a text message around 2 p.m. from a friend of mine serving as a volunteer, I learned that the doctors were free and open to receive more medical patients and that I should come down, wristband or not. I arrived around 4 p.m. to a volunteer staff who were happy to receive me. There were a couple of medical trailers sitting on the main floor as well as a stretch of patients receiving dental treatments from dentists, while other medical procedures such as pap smears, acupuncture, and physicals were administered in rooms where there were private spaces separated by curtains for the patients and doctors to interact one on one. It was relatively quick to be seen, diagnosed, and treated, especially considering I did not have a wristband before showing up (but had received one at the door upon arrival). The volunteers were professional and well-trained while the logistics for the entire process of turning an entertainment center into a hospital-like setup were clearly planned well and executed seamlessly. If there was any area where they failed, I did not see it. The entire process from entering and registering for your preferred service to exiting after being treated took no more than 2 hours–that’s better performance than what most free clinics can do! Aside from this being a 100% volunteer effort, I was truly impressed by the quality of services they offered. I applaud founder Stan Brock and his team for such a grand humanitarian effort.
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The Remote Area Medical® (RAM) Volunteer Corps is a non-profit, volunteer, airborne relief corps dedicated to serving mankind by providing free health care, dental care, eye care, veterinary services, and technical and educational assistance to people in remote areas of the United States and the world. Read more about RAM at http://www.ramusa.org.
Cool.