Remote Area Medical: L.A. Story.

I blogged about Remote Area Medical last summer.

Today, a big L.A. story was the funeral for divisive former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates, dreamily eulogized with even more revisionist history than death usually spawns.

I choose to salute some real heroes instead.

From the Daily Breeze:

Caught off guard by the huge response to a health clinic in Inglewood last August, organizers of a similar event in Los Angeles this week have rallied hundreds of health workers to provide care for the uninsured.
Several South Bay dentists, doctors and others plan to volunteer at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, where as many as 8,000 patients are expected to receive treatment through May 3.
"Whatever they ask us to do, we'll do," said Dr. Jeff Goodman, a Rolling Hills Estates dentist who will volunteer Friday at the clinic. "Our focus will be getting people out of pain."
Three dentists, two dental hygienists and an assistant from Goodman's office, Rolling Hills Dental Group, will be at the event Friday - normally their day off, he said. An assistant, Leilani Marriott, volunteered at The Forum in August, and was struck by the need, Goodman said.
Hundreds of patients waited days, even camping out overnight, in hopes of receiving free medical care at the Inglewood clinic. The turnout served as a powerful visual picture of the need for health care in Los Angeles County, said officials with Remote Area Medical, which organized both events.
Nearly 2 million Californians lost their health insurance in 2008 and 2009, bringing the total number of uninsured residents statewide to 8 million, according to figures from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

More here from the L.A. Times.

UPDATE: RAM's Final Day In L.A.

I posted about RAM--Remote Area Medical--last week. Since I am acutely tuned into the health care reform debate, I was instantly struck by the sad irony of a metropolis like Los Angeles attracting the attention of a rural medical relief organization.

It's another sign of our troubled times, a sure indication of the need for health care reform in general and a public option in particular, and yet a refreshing reminder of the kindness of (certain) strangers.

Here's an update on RAM's final day in L.A. from the Los Angeles Times:

As the Remote Area Medical Foundation’s huge, free health clinic winds up its eight-day run at the Forum in Inglewood Tuesday evening, organizers said they expected to be able to treat all patients who were given wristbands – or refer them to doctors who will provide free care.

During the organization’s first venture into a large, urban city -- and its longest-running health clinic in its 25-year history -- volunteer dentists and doctors helped deliver free medical care to thousands of patients. Many seeking care camped out overnight or slept in their cars; hundreds of others were turned away. Some had traveled from as far as San Francisco and Phoenix for the chance to be treated.

Final tallies were not available, but doctors performed an array of medical services, from root canals and mammograms to HIV tests and the dispensing of free eyeglasses.

“It went beautifully,” said volunteer Don Manelli, chief producer of the event. “The only regret is that we didn’t make it bigger. We could have seen more people. It went smoothly. We didn’t have any major problems. The only improvement we could have made is having more optometrists and dentists every day.”

Organizers said coming to Southern California was a challenge, in part because the local medical community had never heard of the Tennessee-based Remote Area Medical Foundation. The foundation primarily serves rural areas such as Appalachia, where access to healthcare can be limited. But as the clinic gained momentum -- and media coverage -- more volunteers turned out. Over the weekend, Manelli said there were more volunteer dentists than the 80 dental chairs set up on the floor of the Forum.

Manelli said no decisions have been made about whether to return to Los Angeles County, but he said, “We’re already thinking about it.”