[Magdalen] RAM final stats

[Jay Weigel]

This was quite possibly one of the most amazing things I have ever done.
I've done volunteer events before but nothing ever quite matched this. I
returned home today (overnighted in Dublin, VA with my friend of 52 years
and her husband) both stoked and angry.....stoked and energized for action,
with plans to do this again, and angry as hell because it's necessary. At
the Medical Triage station, I heard the same story over and over...."My
husband/wife lost their job (or "I lost my job") and I couldn't afford my
medicine" ....medicine as necessary as INSULIN, for God's sake, or blood
pressure medication for someone whose blood pressure is in the stratosphere
without it,, or "I got laid off and I lost my insurance and I can't afford
private insurance and it's nigh impossible to get on Medicaid" (our
governor has tried to expand ,Medicaid but the legislature has blocked
him), or "I can't find a doctor who takes my insurance", or "My doctor
fired me because I was a week late for my blood work because I don't have a
car and I didn't have a way to get there that week", or variants of any of
these. Having worked in home health in a population very similar to this
one, I *know* that these stories are real and not made up because I dealt
with the same ones then.

As I drove home, I busied my mind composing a letter to Hillary Clinton
about my experience and these stories. This is the only developed, First
World country in which health care is tied to one's employment, and in my
mind that is just WRONG. Decent basic healthcare and maintenance
medications should be available to EVERY citizen and should not cost them
an arm and a leg and the life of their firstborn child! I don't know
whether I am angrier at Big Pharma, Big Insurance, or Big Medicine for the
way things are. (Right now it's in the order I named them, but I hate them
all!) I am, however, deeply grateful for Stan Brock for founding Remote
Area Medical, and for every single one of the volunteers who makes the
clinic possible, right down to the lunch ladies from the Lions Club and the
guys who replace the paper towels at the hand washing stations (I met one
of them, he is an attorney in his other life) and the kids working on their
Eagle Scout badges.It was a privilege to be part of it.......but I wish it
weren't necessary in this country!

Stepping off my soapbox now.

Jay, R.N. (ret.)

P.S. What's the best address to use to get a letter to Secretary Clinton?

On Mon, Jul 25, 2016 at 1:01 PM, Lynn Ronkainen <houstonklr at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Wow... what a great event and great people who volunteered their time.
> Thankful to know two of them - Grace and Jay! Thanks to you two!
> Lynn
>
> website: www.ichthysdesigns.com
>
> When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I have not
> a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything You gave me."
> attributed to Erma Bombeck
> "Either Freedom for all or stop talking about Freedom at all" from a talk
> by Richard Rohr
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Grace Cangialosi" <gracecan at gmail.com>
> Sent: Monday, July 25, 2016 11:58 AM
> To: "Magdalen" <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
> Subject: [Magdalen] RAM final stats
>
> This was the final tally after this weekend's RAM clinic in Wise Virginia:
>> 2111 patients and $1,213,309 worth of medical, dental and optical services
>> provided.
>> It was one of the best-organized volunteer events I've ever attended,
>> with 1400 volunteers registered, most of whom stayed for the full three
>> days of the clinic, and some of whom came the day before to set up. All of
>> the medical people were volunteers.The event took over the county
>> fairgrounds, and this is the 17th year for this particular location.
>>
>>
>> RAM: Thank you. With your help we were able to register 2111 patients and
>> provide $1,213,309 in services so far at this clinic.=
>>
>
>