Remote Area Medical deploys medical team to offer free care to PR
RAM to operate five mobile medical clinics Dec. 3-21.
Remote Area Medical-RAM, the largest nongovernmental organization that operates mobile medical clinics delivering free dental, vision, and medical services to underserved and uninsured individuals, will be in Puerto Rico Dec. 3-21 to offer free services. No ID is required.
RAM officials have been providing disaster relief aid in Puerto Rico since October and have now scheduled five mobile medical clinics to help those “who are suffering and in need of care.”
The clinics are scheduled to take place in San Germán (Dec. 3-5), Añasco (Dec. 7-9), San Sebastián (Dec. 11-13), Moca (Dec. 15-17), and Aguada (Dec. 19-21).
“Puerto Rico was already struggling from a long-standing economic recession before Hurricane María struck,” said Remote Area Medical Founder and President, Stan Brock.
“Now the territory faces an uncertain future as the entire electrical grid and most water purifying systems were destroyed,” said Brock.
“RAM teams are going to do everything they can to help out our American neighbors who are experiencing these hard times, both now and in the years to come,” he added.
RAM’s five mobile medical clinics are scheduled to take place in public coliseums and arenas in Puerto Rico and will offer a free health services including dental cleanings, fillings, extractions, dental x-rays, eye exams, eyeglass prescriptions, free eyeglasses, women’s health exams, and general medical exams, all of which will be provided by RAM’s corps of humanitarian volunteers.
RAM is still searching for additional licensed dental, vision, medical professionals to volunteer their time in Puerto Rico. More information about volunteering can be found at www.ramusa.org/volunteer.
Additionally, RAM will have a veterinary component to its mobile medical clinics in Puerto Rico, working with Veterinarians for Puerto Rico, providing them space at the clinics to assess the veterinary needs of the patients.
Veterinarians for Puerto Rico will attend RAM clinics and consult with patients about their pet’s needs, to then be able to provide treatment to both small and large animals, including vaccinations and providing medications for illnesses.
Remote Area Medical also plans to transport and distribute over 50,000 pounds of additional disaster relief supplies that they have collected since Hurricane María struck Puerto Rico in late September.
These supplies include diapers, hygiene products, bottled water, cleaning supplies, tools, animal food, and 20,000 ready-to-eat meals that were donated by Cigna of Chattanooga.
RAM teams have traveled to Puerto Rico two times since Hurricane María made landfall in order to assess conditions on the island and determine the best course of action.
In early October, RAM partnered with FedEx to fly 63,000 pounds of donated disaster relief supplies to the island. Once the supplies arrived at Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla, they were distributed by RAM volunteers to people in need.
After shipping thousands of pounds of clinic equipment from Tennessee to Puerto Rico last week, RAM crews are now in collaboration with several local Puerto Rican authorities and community groups to ensure the last phases of clinic planning are a success.
See you in Moca, PR 14-15 Dec. Will try to get more volunteers.
Gracias, senor!
If my church wanted to make a donation by check (not credit card), how would we do that?
Linda Cepeda