Remote Area Medical and DentMed to host free vision and dental clinics in Baltimore

By Megan Sayles,
AFRO Business Writer,
msayles@afro.com

Remote Area Medical (RAM), a healthcare nonprofit headquartered in Tennessee, is set to host a free, two-day clinic for dental, vision and general medical care in Baltimore on June 10 and 11.

The pop-up clinics, which are provided in collaboration with Maryland-based DentMed, will take place at The Stadium School, located at 1400 Exeter Hall Ave. The initiative will begin servicing the public at 6 a.m.

Because the clinics operate on a first-come, first-serve basis, residents are encouraged to arrive at the site as early as possible. The parking lot for the pop-ups will open at midnight on June 9.

No ID is required to obtain services at the clinics and services are open to children and adults.

“Remote Area Medical is excited to be hosting a clinic in Baltimore. We only go where we are invited and DentMed has made that invitation for us to serve the Baltimore community,” said Chris Cannon, media relations coordinator for RAM. “RAM offers free dental, vision and medical care to anyone in need, and there’s no qualifying questions. We simply ask for patience as we work through the services.”

RAM was established in 1985 by British philanthropist Stan Brock who wanted to expand access to free medical care after experiencing a serious horse-related injury. Brock served as president and founder of the organization without pay until his death in 2018.

For the pop-up clinics, RAM provides all of the medical equipment, while DentMed, Inc. sources dentists, optometrists and doctors to administer the services.

“A lot of people think we’re only trying to target the less fortunate, but that’s not our primary goal. Our primary goal is to reach people who have health insurance with a copay,” said Portia Ackridge, owner and CEO of DentMed.

According to Ackridge, costly copays can force individuals to prioritize expenses, like mortgages, rent and groceries, over medical care.

“A lot of people don’t realize that copays are also stopping people from getting treatment. Just because you have insurance, it doesn’t cover 100 percent of the cost,” said Ackridge.

Services at the free clinic include dental cleanings, dental fillings, dental extractions, dental X-rays, eye exams, eyeglass prescriptions, eyeglasses made on-site, women’s health exams and general physical exams. Providers will also supply referrals for further care if requested.

RAM is still accepting volunteer dental and vision providers. Anyone who is interested can sign up at volunteer.ramusa.org or call 865-579-1530.

“So many people are going without these services, which is why we are doing these clinics,” said Ackridge. “They just give people in the area that extra push to get healthy.”

Megan Sayles is a Report for America Corps member.