Faces of the Uninsured-
Remote Area Medical is an organization that was originally founded by former “Wild Kingdom” co-star Stan Brock to provide medical services to remote areas in the Third World. Since being founded in 1985 RAM has grown into an organization providing medical services in the poorest countries of the world, and the richest. They rely on donations from the public to complete their mission, and they can stretch a dollar like no other organization I’ve ever seen.
Matt Ford and I spent a weekend in Harriman, Tenn., at a RAM clinic to see the organization in action, and talk with people who would wait in line for hours and days for basic dental, vision, and medical questions.
I’ll never forget arriving at Roane State Community College and seeing the parking lot already full of cars. It was 2am the night before the RAM would open the doors and the lot felt like a tailgate at a rock concert, or football game. The state guard was brought in to do crowd control, and hand out tickets that would determine your spot in line.
Every assignment I do I try to imagine myself walking in the shoes of my subjects. What would it feel like to drive 4 hours from Atlanta to get a few teeth pulled? What would it be like to wrap my newborn baby in a blanket and live in my car for two days to get my eyes looked at? How would it feel to work 40 hours a week as a shift manager at a fast food restaurant and not be able to afford your insurance co-pay?
Looking around I couldn’t shake the feeling of disbelief that this was happening in the worlds richest nation.
For more information on Remote Area Medical visit http://www.ramusa.org/
