COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — More than 475 people received free health care Saturday as a two-day pop-up clinic returned to Columbus, offering dental, vision and medical services to people regardless of their insurance status.
The Remote Area Medical clinic transformed the gymnasium at East High School into a temporary health care center, with volunteers providing everything from dental cleanings and fillings to vision screenings, physicals and women’s health services. In Franklin County, approximately 10.1% of residents under the age of 65 do not have health insurance, according to U.S. Census data.
For Ohio State University fourth-year dental student Sophia Bernard, volunteering at the clinic for a second consecutive year offered an opportunity to put her training to work while serving people who might otherwise go without care.
“Last year, I did it and I loved it. I got to meet so many great people, work with my classmates, and just really treat people in need, get people out of pain,” Bernard said.
Bernard spent much of Saturday treating pediatric patients and performing restorative dental work. She estimated she saw five or six patients throughout the day, including children receiving dental care for the first time.
“A lot of my pediatric patients, it was the first time that they had ever been introduced to the dentist,” Bernard said. “Just the constant repetition seeing new things new challenges and especially in situations like this where we may not have all the resources we’re working in a tent bent over with limited light and not the most opportunity as far as instruments go and it just really teaches you to be adaptable and really work with what you have and provide the best care that you can.
The experience also gave Bernard a chance to learn outside the traditional classroom setting.
“Nothing in dentistry is like the textbook. Everything I do is something different,” she said. “I’ve done hundreds of restorations, and today I learned something new.”
The need for those services was especially apparent in the dental area, which saw more than 300 patients Saturday alone.
Gabrielle Morrison, a Remote Area Medical volunteer who has been involved with the Columbus clinics for about two years, said she continues to return because of the impact the services have on patients.
The clinic does not require identification, proof of insurance or even a patient’s legal name.
“We’re here to serve the people. We’re here to give them free, quality health care that they might not be able to get at a private practice,” Morrison said.
She said volunteers regularly hear from people who have lost insurance coverage, been denied care or simply cannot afford to see a provider.
“I can’t stress enough how important it is,” Morrison said. “We have had so many patients tell us just within the last year how they have lost insurance. They’ve been denied, they’ve just been unable to go get the health care that they need.”
For some patients, the clinic can mean finally receiving care they have gone years without.
“I mean I had a lady last year, she said she has not had a pair of glasses, she’s been living without proper eyesight since she was a teenager and she was well under her 40s,” Gabrielle said. “This was her first opportunity to be able to see in those 20, 30-plus years. She cried. She broke down to us.”
In addition to dental and vision services, the clinic offered vaccines, physicals, sports physicals, women’s health services and mammograms Saturday. Sunday services include additional providers, including a podiatrist.
Bernard said the opportunity to help patients, particularly children, is one she hopes to continue pursuing as she moves toward the next stage of her dental career. She said she hopes patients who receive emergency treatment through clinics like this one will eventually be able to transition to regular preventive care.
“It’s really important to provide them this care, even just yearly, so that they can be seeing a dentist at least once a year, getting their needs taken care of,” Bernard said.
The Remote Area Medical clinic continues Sunday, Nov. 8, at East High School in Columbus. Services are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached.
No identification or proof of insurance is required. Doors open at 6 a.m.
Source: abc6onyourside.com
