The Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic held in Fort Worth, Texas, on November 4th and 5th, 2023, offered a vital lifeline for uninsured and underserved residents, like Gaby Gonzalez. After waiting 13 hours in line, Gonzalez finally saw a dentist for the first time in years. She not only got two infected teeth extracted, but also received diagnoses for uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure that she never knew she had.
RAM clinics provide completely free dental, vision and medical care with no restrictions on income, citizenship status or residence. This is the third year RAM has held clinics in Fort Worth. Patients like Chris Evans drive hours to access the “godsend” services. His uninsured mother left with new glasses and a bright smile for the first time in years. Dr. Curtis Galke, a RAM volunteer, believes the immense demand highlights how “completely broken” the U.S. healthcare system is.
Long waits and desperate patients are the norm at RAM pop-up clinics across America. The fortune of getting care depends on winning the overnight line lottery. But for Gonzales, the payoff was life-changing. The free clinic not only treated her painful mouth, but potentially added decades to her life by uncovering unchecked diabetes and hypertension.
Read the full story by Ciara McCarthy in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.