Media contact: Anna Jones
The East Central Alabama Area Health Education Center and Remote Area Medical – RAM® – are hosting a free pop-up clinic offering medical, dental and vision services April 23 and 24 at Gadsden City High School, 1917 Black Creek Parkway, Gadsden, AL 35901. This will be the first full-scale clinic that RAM has operated in the state of Alabama. This free clinic is open to the public.
RAM is a nonprofit organization that provides medical, dental and vision checkups to underserved and uninsured individuals. At this clinic, free dental, vision and medical services will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to time constraints, patients will be asked to choose between dental or vision services. Medical services will be offered to every patient attending the clinic.
For the Gadsden clinic, RAM has enlisted the help of locally sourced volunteers, including medical providers from UAB Medicine, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, UAB School of Dentistry and UAB School of Optometry.
“We are always looking for ways to overcome the barriers to receiving health care that exist across our state,” said Michael Faircloth, M.D., director of the Alabama AHEC program and associate professor in the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine. “AHEC is thrilled to be able to partner with RAM to provide these services to people within the Gadsden community and surrounding areas.”
The clinics will open at approximately 6 a.m. Saturday, April 23, and Sunday, April 24. The patient parking lot will open no later than 11:59 p.m. on Friday night, April 22. As patients arrive at the parking lot, they will be provided with additional information regarding clinic opening processes and next steps.
Patients who arrive early should be prepared with their own food, water, medicines and clothing. Bathrooms will be provided. Patients will be required to wear face coverings and must undergo a COVID-19 screening before entering the clinic. All services are free and open to the public. There are no qualifying questions, and no identification is required.
Clinic closing time may vary based on each service area’s daily capacity. Please check RAM’s clinic FAQ page for more information. Visit ramusa.org for updates on clinic operations.