From Michigan to Tennessee with Love

*This blog isn't about a typical industry related topic.

I returned Monday from a weekend excursion into the greening mountains of Tennessee with the Volunteer Corp of Remote Area Medical (RAM). RAM is a non-profit, volunteer, relief corps dedicated to providing free health care, dental care and eye care to people in remote areas of the United States and the world. As an all-volunteer charitable organization, volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses, pilots, veterinarians and support workers participate in expeditions (at their own expense). Medical supplies, medicines, facilities and vehicles are donated.

Tennessee stole my heart with it's soft mountain peaks contrasted against sharp, dark and weeping rock walls along the roadside. The Tennessee spring was busy blurring the harsh lines of bare winter branches with blooms and buds. And the lush and green rolling pastures peppered with velvet black cattle quieted something inside me . I was very far away from my busy life of endless time-consuming tasks.

I volunteered for RAM's Rural America Program, which targets under-served areas of the US and on this expedition in particular RAM helped provide primarily vision and dental care. I didn't know exactly what to expect; after all I have no medical training and have never volunteered for RAM. Although I had been settled and relaxed by my immensely peaceful Ten-plus hour drive, I became anxious as I approached.

No medical service was being offered when I pulled up on late Friday afternoon, but patients were already lined up outside in anticipation of the next day. The clinic didn't open until 6:00am the next morning, and there was no telling how long they had been there before I arrived. I couldn't help but wonder how cold it would get that evening as they would all be spending the night outside.

Volunteering to me is very humbling; it allows for both personal reflection and the chance to serve others. Inevitably, when at home I get caught up in myself and daily life and I begin to take my blessings for granted and lose site of the truth: that across this country and the world, we are all the same, with the same needs for attention, love and care. Pulling up and seeing people who are so desperate for basic care that I take for granted everyday was a refreshing & needed glimpse into my own soul, and allowed me to focus on what is really important in this world


I assisted in setting up the temporary dental clinic in the rural county high school gymnasium in Spencer, TN. We set up 20 dental stations. Other parts of the school were set up for vision and general medical.

On Saturday morning I started at 5:30am. Some volunteers had been there since 4:00am. Along with a group of eager volunteers, I sat facing the glass doors behind a long table and waited to register patients, which was more challenging than one might expect. Some patients could not read or write. But what I found most challenging was the realization that many of these people were embarrassed. Just getting in line is an admission of need and dependency that I have never had to feel. Additionally, after being filed in they are asked very personal questions about themselves in an open room, questions that I trust only to my doctor or mother. They felt naked and all I could do was ask "When was your last visit to a doctor? What was it for?" Of course this is of no fault to RAM or the beautifully kind women of www.uchra.com who organized this event. There is no other way to register 455 people in a few hours. I merely felt how wrong the predicament these people are in is. And I felt ashamed at my obliviousness to my own privileges.

When registration was complete I was put back in the dental clinic moving patients from the bleachers to the open dental chairs. The largest number of people waiting for dental care where waiting on extractions. It was a large nervous crowd. The temporary dental clinic couldn't provide these people with anything but a local anesthetic (a few shots of Novocaine). And while that is enough to extract teeth painlessly, I wouldn't want to go through that procedure without being lulled to sleep by nitrous oxide. I made sure to walk lightly and never stop smiling. I made a few covert "cafeteria runs" for small children who were restless and hungry after waiting for hours. I managed to crack a few smiles, get a few laughs, and I received more thank you's than I deserve for my lifetime.


I had the easiest job in the dental clinic. The dentists and official dental assistants worked for 10-12 hours, seeing patient after patient after patient in a hot gymnasium for no pay. They would respectfully shake hands and introduce themselves to every patient. I witnessed them listening to the patient's problems and then gently sit them down and begin their work. Their backs must have ached. Their hand must have cramped. They were selfless and they humbly provided for the patient's needs. The air of shame I had felt when registering the patients was lifted by obvious and growing mutual respect. These volunteers wanted to be there for no reason other than to help a fellow human being.


I eventually ended up as a dental assistant for small amount of time. Patients often arrive with serious dental problems, often affecting their overall health. In a single visit, many of these can be improved. I got to assist in emergency extractions & restorations. I of course in no way functioned completely as a dental assistant. There is much more to that position than can be learned in an afternoon. I did however learn more respect for that profession and I enjoyed the work very much. Being intimately involved in the actual care being received was an experience I have a hard time putting into words.

Overall, it was an extremely fulfilling experience. RAM through the organizational efforts of Uchra was able to service over 600 people with dental, vision, and basic medical needs who would have otherwise gone without care. I cherish my very small role in this very awesome event.

This past weekend in Tennessee was my first time witnessing rural poverty. And while urban and rural poverty are equally undeserving, unsettling, sad and unfortunate, they are different. I have spent the last 9 years volunteering for Big Brother/ Big Sister and through that experience I have witnessed shocking urban poverty. But being in an urban setting there are many resources readily available to help alleviate one's pain and discomfort. Mobile dental clinics visit our urban schools and social service programs as well as charitable organization have programs actively seeking to assist. Rural poverty is off the map. It's behind the rolling green hills and over the weeping rock walls. It's out of view and not easy to get to. RAM is an organization that recognized that need and is dedicated to helping.

Now you might be asking yourself "why haven't I heard of RAM?". After all, with the highest unemployment in the country and 2.5 million uninsured at some point during 2007-2008 (76% working families!), Michigan would appear to be ripe grounds for volunteer healthcare services. Unfortunately the The Michigan Board of Medicine does not grant temporary licenses for out-of-state dentists, optometrist or doctors. Now I realize that this is likely a protective measure; the Department of Community Health wants to protect the residents of our state from rogue doctors. It is my opinion however, that the people that would be served by a volunteer medical organization like RAM are either already getting free service, or they are suffering in silence because they cannot afford medical care. With demand and need increasing in this state at unprecedented levels, I encourage you to contact your legislators.


http://www.house.mi.gov/find_a_rep.asp


I got a clear view of myself in the mirror this weekend and I was reminded once again I'm merely a person sharing this life's experience with every other person on this planet. And I owe my brothers and sisters of planet earth my respect, my outreached hand, and a smile.