Reminder: Free medical clinic Sept. 23-25 in Silver Springs

The Fernley Reporter

Remote Area Medical (RAM), an organization dedicated to providing free, quality health care services, is bringing a pop-up clinic for both adults and children to Silver Springs.

There are no eligibility requirements and no identification is necessary and the clinic is open to all Lyon County residents. Services are provided on a first come, first saved basis. The clinic will be located at the Silver Stage High School at 3755 West Spruce Avenue, Silver Springs, Nevada 89429 on September 23, 24 and 25. Entry numbers are distributed at 3 a.m., three hours before the clinic opens.

Free services include dental cleanings, fillings, and extractions, eye exams and glasses, vaccinations for adults and children (including the zoster vaccination to prevent shingles in adults 55 and older), mental health screenings and referrals, general medical consultations, and referrals and connections to local follow-up care. The Nevada Health Center Mammovan will also be onsite to offer mammograms (8 a.m. -3:30 p.m. on Sept. 23-24 and from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sept 25.) RAM’s previous 3-day pop up clinics in Las Vegas, Carson City, Reno and Yerington in 2014 and 2015 were successful, reaching thousands of under-insured adults and children from nearly a dozen Nevada counties.

If you go:

There is no cost to those seeking RAM services, and there is no requirement to show identification or preregister for RAM services. However, guardians of minors must be present to give consent for services to minors.

Patients are asked to bring a list of any medications they are currently taking.

People should come prepared to stay on-site by bringing warm clothing, snacks and water if possible. Portable toilets will be available.

Volunteers Needed: To volunteer, register online at www.ramusa.org by clicking on the “Volunteer” tab. Although several optometrists and physicians are already registered to volunteer, as well as students and an instructor from Truckee Meadows Community College Dental Hygiene Program, dentists, nurses and additional hygienists are still needed. Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties’ Wendy Madson, one of the key local organizers for the event, urges people to invite their own dentists, family doctors, nurses and optometrists to volunteer with the event. General support volunteers are also enthusiastically welcomed.

Christy McGill, director of Healthy Communities, the sponsoring entity for the RAM visit, said medical professionals from both in and out of the state can volunteer. The Coalition is offering to pay for hotel rooms for health care professionals traveling long distances, and hot meals and snacks are provided throughout the day for all volunteers. RAM’s core organizational staff team, traveling to Nevada from Tennessee for the event, are being offered RV space at the Silver Springs Airport. Staff from Healthy Communities can speak to groups about the benefits and logistics of volunteering with RAM.

Donations are welcomed and are tax deductible. Donations to support the RAM events in Silver Springs can be sent to the nonprofit Healthy Communities Coalition, P.O. Box 517, Dayton, Nevada 89403. Please specify "RAM 2016" in the memo line of checks.

For questions about the RAM event in Silver Springs, call (775) 350-9250.