WISE, Va. — More than 1,500 people, all of them needing some kind of medical attention, converged on the remote area medical clinic (RAM) held July 23-25 in Wise.
Now in its 11th year, the three-day event has become traditional in the southwest part of the state as people from Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and as far away as Florida come to be treated by physicians, dentists, optometrists and other medical professionals.
Under huge canvas canopies, row after row of dental chairs were filled with people needing attention. In tents and specially equipped trailers resembling a small city, others waited for mammograms or other x-rays, for eye exams, for treatment by a doctor or for chiropractic adjustments. Other physicians were on hand at a local hospital to perform surgeries referred there by doctors at the RAM. Virtually any kind of medical need requiring professional medical attention may show up.
John Ellington, pastor of First Baptist Church in Norton, Va., one of the hundreds of volunteers, provided an overview of the process.
“People start arriving early to get a good ticket,” he said. “Some of them come out and spend the night so they can get a low number. Some stay the whole weekend.” Numbered tickets determined the order in which people were seen and were given as they registered.
“Once they get a ticket,” Ellington continued, “they go to the stands and wait.” On the way there, every one of them passed volunteers from the Wise Baptist Association staffing a site from which they distributed literature and encouragement. From another location these Baptist volunteers prepared and served hundreds of meals to other volunteers and to those who had come for treatment.
According to Ellington, when people were called by number, they first entered a triage tent to determine their needs and from there they were taken by volunteers to be seen by the doctors.
The doctors, nurses, hygienists and students volunteer their time and often donate the supplies and medicines they use. Other supplies were provided by the truckloads by corporate sponsors.
“For some, this is their annual trip to the doctor,” said Thomas Saul, one member of the medical team numbering about 240 physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and medical students from the University of Virginia Medical Center.
Although the event is not specifically a religiously-motivated mission, one volunteer summed up the feelings of many by saying, “If you don’t have it in here,” he said, pointing to his heart, “you don’t really want to be out there,” as he waved a hand toward the tents where people were being treated.