The first services delivered by Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps in the United States were in the Appalachian Mountains of the Southeast, where 42% of the population is classified as rural, as compared to the national average of 20%. The rural Appalachian region served by RAM's Rural
AMerica Program covers 205,000 square miles over portions of 13 states. Many of the 420 counties in this region are the poorest in the nation and offer very little, if any infrastructure. In some of these very poor counties, with some of the highest rates of unemployment in the country, there is a shortage of basic healthcare services. In some areas where there are available services, many of the region's unemployed do not have the insurance necessary to cover healthcare costs.
The Rural AMerica Program began serving this area of the country in 1992, with one clinic in East TN that served 52 patients, all of whom required emergency dental care (with extractions). The value of care delivered at that first Rural AMerica clinic was $2,600. In 1993, the program served 2,353 patients who received services worth a total of $328,114. In 2010, just the Rural AMerica Program saw 20,631 patients in Appalachia and delivered services that were worth $5,746,136. While the type of care provided at these clinics has expanded, a typical RAM clinic will offer Dental, Vision, and General Medical services. |
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The
primary purpose of the Rural AMerica Program is to provide
vision and dental care for underserved areas of the
US. The vision care team of RAM provides people with
eye exams and eyeglasses to improve their present circumstances
and better see the world around them. For some, a pair
of glasses may allow them to drive more safely, get
a job or better execute their present job. For others,
reading glasses will allow them to read more comfortably
or thread a needle for the first time in years. |
