I was just e-mailed an article by Debra McCown from the Bristol, Virginia Bristol Herald Courier entitled RAM expedition an unfortunate success I promised a rant after I posted the earlier diary, Free Medical Care: The RAM/LAMP project in Wise County, VA-We did more , but not enough!, upon my return from RAM, so here it is. The writer says it very well:
A record number of people received care at this year's Remote Area Medical health expedition in Wise, organizers say, but a record number of patients also were turned away.
"Unfortunately, it was a success," said Teresa Gardner, executive director of The Health Wagon, which coordinates the annual Wise event. "Our success is a failure of the health care system."
Gardner said the higher number of people that showed up this year is an indication of the growing need for affordable health care in the region.
There is more below the break
The article goes on to say:
According to preliminary figures, 2,539 people were seen during the event at the Wise County Fairgrounds – slightly more than last year and expected to be higher when final numbers are tabulated.
There were 1,898 volunteers preregistered for the event, but there was not enough time and manpower to help everyone, officials said.
Hundreds – and perhaps 1,000 – of would-be patients were turned away, said Jean Jolly, Wise RAM coordinator and volunteer coordinator for Remote Area Medical.
"We're just a Band-Aid" she said.
Another article in Sunday's Daily Press by Sue Lindsay entitled Annual free health clinic opens in SW Virginia also comments on the situation:
Volunteers had to turn away people needing dental or vision services within an hour after the gates opened at 6 a.m. Those planning to try again Saturday were advised to return by 3 a.m.
For many residents in the economically depressed coal counties _ with either no jobs or no health insurance--the fairgrounds clinic is their only access to health care all year.
Jack Taylor of Dungannon was at the clinic to get dentures this year. He had eight teeth pulled last year, on his first visit.
"It was the easiest thing that was ever done," said Taylor, 58. He'd been in such pain he'd pulled his other teeth himself.
The 2 day clinic is by far the largest domestic one staged by Knoxville, Tenn. based Remote Area Medical, said Jean Brady Jolly, coordinator of its 1,500 volunteers.
RAM operates one or two clinics a month, but most serve between 500 and 800 people and focus on dental and vision services. More than 8,400 procedures were performed last year at Wise, with many people seeking help for more than one ailment....
Residents of the remote southwest Virginia coal counties have a higher incidence of death from heart disease, cancer, pulmonary disease, diabetes and suicide than the state as a whole, according to state Health Department statistics.
Yesterday I wrote about George Lakoff's diagnosis of the impotence of the Democratic Party as expressed in his new book The Political Mind: Why you can't understand 21st century politics with an 18th century brain. As expected there were a mixed group of comments, some wanting more, some defensive, some attacking Lakoff. That's not going to get us there folks! Nor is electing democrats in November, unless they are very different democrats from the democrats we elected in 2006.
I am noticing more and more the time and energy spent telling each other over and over and over again that McCain is a bad guy and that Obama is a good guy. Who are you trying to convince on this site? What is the purpose? Is it possible that by focusing on how bad the republicans are we can then ignore our own impotence? That seems to be what is going on. I would expect that time and effort would be spent to far greater advantage here putting together the programs and strategies that will finally give us the country we desire. For me that would give top priority to events like the one discussed here. It would admit our shame and disgust with our own failure to stop this administration from squandering the resources we need to make things right again.
Please read Lakoff's book and the state of things like health care in our nation and then devote your time, energy, and resources to eliminating the source of our collective shame. By doing that you will do far more towards electing Barack Obama and the congress he needs to govern. Then, the day after the election continue to study and work for the president and the congress can not do it alone. And there is so so much to be done!