Free health clinic aids hundreds in need HEALTH CARE

Dozens of dental patients receiving their care, as RAM, Remote Area Medical holds their free clinic, offering services in dental, vision and general medicine at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, in Oakland, Ca. on Saturday Apr. 10, 2011. less Dozens of dental patients receiving their care, as RAM, Remote Area Medical holds their free clinic, offering services in dental, vision and general medicine at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, in Oakland, ... more Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 25 Caption Close Free health clinic aids hundreds in need 1 / 25 Back to Gallery

By the time the free health clinic at the Oakland Coliseum opened Saturday at dawn, some 800 tickets had been handed out to people who waited in the cold all night for the chance to have a tooth extracted, get new glasses or to finally get prescription medications for arthritis or other painful conditions.

Geneva Clay, 51, of San Leandro worked as a project manager and had health benefits before she was laid off in 2009. She had been waiting in line since 11 p.m. Friday and was number 282.

"We are the middle class. We are in need of health care because of the lack of jobs," she said, trying to keep warm until her number was called. "In this country, we shouldn't have to fight for medical coverage, we shouldn't have to fight to see a doctor. We can send money all over the world, but we can't take care of our own."

Clay was one of about 1,000 people expected to be seen on the first day of the huge, four-day health clinic organized by Remote Area Medical. RAM, a volunteer medical corps based in Tennessee, has been providing health clinics in underserved areas around the world since 1985 and has been offering them in this country since the mid-'90s.

The Oakland event, RAM's 640th free clinic, is part of the group's first visit to Northern California and follows a stop at Sacramento last weekend, where nearly 3,600 people were seen at Cal Expo over four days. The group visited Southern California in 2009 and 2010.

RAM, which has no corporate sponsors or state financing and is funded through donations, relies on a battalion of 500 to 600 medical and general volunteers. The California Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons sponsored the Oakland and Sacramento events with support from the Tzu Chi Foundation.

Huge medical team

Saturday's medical staff, which is primarily local because of state licensing restrictions, included about 50 dentists, 15 oral surgeons, 25 hygienists, 50 registered nurses, a dozen medical doctors, more than 10 optometrists as well as opticians, optical technicians, acupuncturists, chiropractors and other health professionals.

The group's founder, Stan Brock, said the vast majority of people come to the clinic for dental and vision services.

"They're so preoccupied with the pain from not being to see a dentist in years they're not worried about whether they have diabetes," Brock said. "Persuading them to see the medical doctors is an effort."

The crowd included the newly and long-term unemployed, students and people who were homeless. Some of those who had recently lost their jobs had been given the opportunity to stay on their former employers' coverage out of their own pocket, but couldn't afford it.

But many of the people seeking care had full- or part-time jobs that either did not come with health benefits or required them to contribute so much that they were priced out of coverage. Some had health care, but no dental or vision insurance. Those people typically earned too much to qualify for government health programs.

"We need universal health care. People shouldn't have to stand out here all night," said Sharice Gastile, 28, of Oakland, a full-time college student and single mother who was 17th in line. She is one of many Californians who lost adult Medi-Cal dental benefits when the program was cut in 2009.

Bill Manley of Hayward took BART to the Coliseum and was waiting in line by 8:30 p.m. with his wife and sister-in-law. "I'd like to get this thing out of the way," he said, wiggling a loose front tooth he knew needed to be pulled.

But Manley, 46, who said he hadn't seen a dentist in more than two decades, learned later in the oral surgeon's chair that he needed to get all of his teeth extracted because multiple abscess infections affecting his teeth, gums and jaw could cause serious medical problems.

"That's what I get for neglecting them so long," said Manley, who was disappointed but stoic as he waited for the numbing medication to take effect. "You've got to do what you've got to do."

Many chronic ailments

The medical volunteers, all motivated by a desire to help people in need, were stunned by the size and scope of the event. More than 80 portable dental chairs filled the dental area inside the Coliseum, across from 14 vision-exam stations. Patients seeking general medical care could be seen in one of 16 makeshift exam rooms.

"You don't have to go to a foreign country," said Dr. Norman Burg, an Oakland native with a dental practice in Rockridge. "You can do this here and offer some benefit."

Dr. Seema Sangwan, an internist at Cisco Systems' health center in San Jose, said she expected to see more colds and flus and was surprised by the number of chronic and potentially serious ailments. "People are coming in saying 'I have high blood pressure, and I haven't seen a doctor in years,' " she said.

Sandi Lloyd, 45, of Oakland, who works two part-time jobs but doesn't have insurance, said she was grateful for the opportunity to get care. She had just visited the dental area, where she had three teeth extracted.

"The guy who ripped my teeth out of my head, I hugged him. He was so nice," she said, with a mouth full of cotton swabs as she waited to get her eyes examined.