The Red Bank High School gym bubbled with conversation while a hundred people waited their turn in a dentist’s chair Saturday afternoon.
People sat in the bleachers and cheered fellow patients as they were called to one of the dozens of dental stations set up on the basketball court to receive cleanings or fillings, free of charge. Others received free eye exams and glasses, ground on site by a mobile optometrist unit. Some people took advantage of diabetic, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS screenings or women’s health exams.
This is just another weekend event for Remote Area Medical, a nongovernmental entity that provides free mobile medical clinics across the county and beyond.
“I had dental insurance, but I couldn’t even afford to pay the co-pays,” said Crystal Hagis, who came from Soddy-Daisy. “This is a great thing for people who can’t afford insurance.”
Hagis has attended RAM clinics before and said she waited six months for the Red Bank event to replace a pair of glasses she had lost in an accident. While waiting, she wore a spare pair of her son’s, whose prescription “sort of” matched hers, she said.