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Remote Area Medical to return to Erie Sept. 13–14 offering free dental, vision and medical care
Summary
Hammitt Health Foundation will host Remote Area Medical (RAM) at the Erie Center for Arts and Technology Sept. 13–14, providing free dental, vision and medical services on a first-come, first-served basis; volunteers and partner organizations will staff the clinic and offer follow-up referrals to local providers.
Hammitt Health Foundation will host the Remote Area Medical (RAM) pop-up clinic on Saturday, Sept. 13, and Sunday, Sept. 14, at the Erie Center for Arts and Technology (ECAT), 650 East Avenue, the foundation announced at a City of Erie press event.
Boo Haggerty, president of the Hammitt Health Foundation, said the clinic will provide free dental, vision and medical services and will operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking and preliminary check-in will open at midnight Friday, Sept. 12; organizers plan to begin on-site registration overnight and to open clinic doors about 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. on clinic days.
The RAM truck will bring on-site dental and vision fabrication equipment and a pharmacy, Haggerty said. Last year the clinic served 310 patients, produced 101 pairs of eyeglasses on-site, recorded 111 dental X-rays and performed 126 tooth extractions. Volunteers and practitioners provided roughly $179,006 in services at no cost to patients, according to figures Haggerty gave the city.
Why it matters: organizers said the pop-up model is intended to reach neighbors who lack trust in or access to a regular medical home and to connect them to ongoing local care. Haggerty said last year’s clinic led to several follow-up referrals; one person found a suspicious skin lesion and was connected to a surgeon the following Monday.
Volunteers and partners: Haggerty said the event will field more than 300 volunteers in medical, dental and vision roles. He said 42 dentists and dental students will staff dental services across the weekend, with LECOM dental students and University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine students supporting care on separate days. Haggerty said Primary Health Network runs Wayne Primary Care at the Wayne School campus and that Community Health Net, UPMC Health Plan and other local providers are participating as partners.
Vision and pharmacy caveats: Haggerty said organizers have not yet secured optometrists or ophthalmologists and therefore may not be able to provide vision screening; the clinic can, however, manufacture glasses on-site for people who already have a prescription. The RAM truck will include a pharmacy so patients can receive antibiotics and other immediate medications when indicated.
Access and privacy: Haggerty said no one is required to provide a name to receive services, though many patients volunteered information last year that helped connect them to medical homes and follow-up specialists. He said about 86% of patients served last year were Erie residents.
Funding and local support: Erie Bank is the event’s major sponsor, Haggerty said, and organizers raised most of the clinic’s operating funds through Erie Gives Day. Local nonprofits including Serve Erie will provide volunteer meals; UPMC Health Plan will operate a neighborhood center at 803 East Avenue with information and services during the clinic.
How to volunteer or attend: Haggerty said volunteer sign-ups close before the event and pointed interested clinicians and volunteers to the RAM USA volunteer sign-up portal. He also encouraged residents who need care to arrive early on clinic days because registration is first come, first served.
No formal city action was taken during the announcement. Haggerty and Mayor Joe Schember made the public remarks and said they are available for interviews about the clinic.
