RAM Clinic 2024

BUILDing a Healthier Community

BUILD and Hamot Health Foundation hosted Erie's first Remote Area Medical® Clinic

Addressing Health Inequities

Many residents in Erie face significant barriers to accessing healthcare, including:

• transportation
• financial instability
• lack of insurance
• health literacy issues, and
• residency status.

These obstacles often result in delayed or unmet health needs, leading to poor health outcomes like tooth decay, high rates of hypertension, and undiagnosed preventable diseases. Even if residents aren't burdened by these obstacles, wait times for appointments can be very long, which means putting off care. 

To combat these challenges, we launched a Remote Area Medical (RAM) Clinic September 7th & 8th at the ECAT Wayne building on East Ave. This initiative was part of our broader effort to address social determinants of health and improve health equity in our community. 

The decision to host the clinic at ECAT Wayne came from years of community engagement and feedback. Residents frequently highlighted unmet healthcare needs, such as the need for vision services and general medical care. These concerns are consistent with broader health trends in Erie County, which underscore the urgent need for accessible, high-quality healthcare interventions.

What is a RAM Clinic?

RAM has been providing free, high-quality healthcare services to underserved and uninsured populations for over 38 years. The 2024 clinic was first of its kind in Erie, offering essential medical, dental, and vision services to those who might otherwise go without.  

By partnering with RAM, an experienced provider of immediate, free healthcare services, were able to serve 310 of our neighbors, adding Erie, and its residents, to the list of communities benefiting from RAM's patient interactions, which exceed 900,000. This event represents a crucial step towards reducing health disparities and fostering a healthier, more equitable Erie. 

It Takes a Village:  

RAM Clinics are highly choreographed events, run by experienced staff members, volunteers, and medical professionals. In addition to RAM staff, we partnered with trusted community organizations familiar to our neighbors to help facilitate this event. This includes ServERIE, who managed hospitality and volunteer services, and the Blue Coats, who helped keep our event safe and community-oriented throughout the weekend.  

We’re grateful for UPMC staff who lent their expertise in event planning and management, Logistics Plus Linguistic Solutions for offering translation services, LECOM Dental School for their support from the outset, UPMC Jameson School of Nursing at UPMC Hamot, Erie Center for Arts & Technology, Erie City School District and the staff at East Middle School, the City of Erie Police Department, and the countless volunteer providers who raised their hand to work an extra 12 hour shift (or two!) for the health of our Erie community.