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Every year Remote Area Medical — RAM® holds many free telehealth clinics in and around Knoxville, Tennessee, our hometown. But once a year RAM holds a three-day, full-scale, pop-up free clinic in Knoxville.
While every hometown RAM Clinic is special, this year’s clinic was especially so. It was our first pop-up clinic of 2025, marked our 40th anniversary, and was our milestone 1,500th expedition.
The 2025 Knoxville clinic served 1,016 patients, providing more than $1,019,000 worth of free care. This was made possible thanks to the support of the 888 volunteers. These volunteers spent their weekend bringing free dental, vision, and medical care to patients in East Tennessee.
Eight student RAM Campus Chapters from across the country joined together to serve uninsured, underinsured, and underserved individuals. These chapters represent RAM at many colleges and universities. Often bringing students together to volunteer nearby or hosting RAM Clinics in their communities.
Beyond dental, vision, and medical care, the local community came together bringing recourses for patients. Metro Drug Coalition provided education and free Narcan, Knoxville Dream Center and Second Harvest provided patients meals, and H.A.B.I.T. Therapy Dogs attended the clinic, providing emotional support to patients as they waited for services.
History of the Knoxville RAM Clinic —
The first RAM Clinic in Knoxville, expedition #38, took place in 1994. Though we had already held multiple Tennessee clinics, this was the first time we held a clinic in our hometown.
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Since 2008, RAM has hosted the annual Knoxville clinic in the historic Jacob Building in Chilhowee Park. This 36,000 square foot facility has long been RAM’s clinic location in Knoxville. It allows us to serve a large number of patients annually. The Knoxville clinic in 2008 was also where 60 Minutes filmed the episode about RAM. The episode would later bring national attention to our organization and our free clinics.
Setting Up the Clinic —
Every other clinic, Community Host Groups, or CHGs, as we call them, invite us to hold a clinic. But for this clinic, RAM Staff acts as the CHG. CHGs and RAM Staff work together over the course of 12+ months planning, organizing, and coordinating the clinic. Staff can be found throughout the clinic making sure that everything is running smoothly. From setting up dental tents to putting out glasses frames for patients to choose from, RAM Staff is involved every step of the way.
60 dental tents, 10 medical bays, and 10 vision lanes — this clinic is one of our largest of the year. The Knoxville clinic is such a large operation that it takes two days of set up to bring together all of the parts required to serve so many patients in a single weekend.
Free Clinic in Knoxville, TN; Providing Care to Patients —
To ensure they were able to receive the care they needed, many patients began waiting in the parking lot as early as the morning of the day before the clinic. These patients slept in their cars. Because this clinic happens every year, many patients come to rely on the Knoxville clinic for the dental, vision, and medical care. Whether they are uninsured or cannot afford the costs associated with getting the care they need, these individuals know that they will get the care they need at the RAM Clinic.
This free dental clinic in Knoxville, TN is what many patients in the area rely on for their annual and biannual dental checkups. Patients do not need appointments at RAM’s free dental clinics. At all RAM Clinics, free dental clinic walk in hours start at 6 A.M. and run until we hit capacity.
The free eye clinic is also a draw for many locals. Patients can either bring a current eye prescription or get one from our optometrists. They can then pick out a new pair of glasses frames for free, and leave the clinic that day with a pair of free glasses.
All patients have the option to see the doctor for free. The free medical clinic is a great way for patients to get their annual exam and talk to a doctor about any health concerns they have.
Free Dental Care at the Knoxville Clinic —
Of the hundreds of dental patients treated at the clinic, some patients attending the clinic did so for the opportunity to get a custom pair of dentures. Our digital dentures team was hard at work throughout the weekend. Using cutting-edge 3D printing technology, they created perfectly fitted custom dentures for 12 patients, something that would usually require months of work and multiple adjustments along the way.
Thanks to a generous donation from the Build-A-Bear Foundation, many of the children at the clinic were gifted a stuffed bear to carry with them throughout the clinic, holding them close for comfort.
The bears were a comforting presence for patients, like Killian, a young RAM patient who slept overnight in the car. He and his guardian waited 12+ hours to ensure he was able to see the dentist. Killian held the stuffed bear close during his dental cleaning and left the clinic with his bear in hand and a smile on his face.
Celebrating 40 Years of Health, Hope, and Humanity —
In 2025, we are celebrating our 40th anniversary and we are excited to continue providing free, quality care to those in need all year long. Since 1985, we have provided more than $215.4 million in free care and served more than 977,800 patients. All of this would not have been possible without the 230,000 volunteers that have donated their time and skills to RAM. Read about RAM’s impact in 2024 here.
RAM is able to hold hundreds of clinics across the country every year thanks to the generosity of our supporters. Please consider becoming a monthly donor. For just $10 a month, roughly the same price as a monthly streaming service, you can help RAM continue to bring free healthcare to people in need across the country.
Looking for other ways to continue supporting RAM’s mission? Volunteer at an upcoming clinic, follow us on social media, and share RAM’s story with friends and family. Even reading this blog post is a great way to support RAM!
Don’t miss RAM’s biannual, free magazine. Download the latest copy here!
This free clinic in Knoxville is something that community members look forward to every year. Check out our schedule for the most up-to-date information on our upcoming clinics in Knoxville and nationwide.
Tennessee residents who need RAM’s free telehealth schedule can click here to see where we’ll be next!
