For over a third of people in this country, health disparities are one of the leading contributors to daily injustices, according to the latest West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index. Despite being home to one of the top hospital systems nationwide, over 14% of Clevelanders have reported some form of health care insecurity, whether that be financial hardships or lack of access. Compared to the 9.5% statewide and 9.6% nationwide—statistics collected from the Cleveland Department of Public Health—it’s clear that Cleveland is in dire need of more accessible medical care.

One of the many groups working to address these challenges is Remote Area Medical: a national organization established in 1985 that also has a local chapter here at Case Western Reserve University. Their original mission started when their founder, Stan Brock, suffered an injury in remote South Africa, leaving him almost a month without access to basic medical care. While there, he witnessed treatable conditions left unaddressed, causing minor ailments to become debilitating. Since then, Remote Area Medical (RAM) has transformed into a nationwide non-profit that works hand-in-hand with communities to organize pop-up clinics in struggling communities. Organized and run by volunteers, RAM pop-up clinics provide direct dental, vision and medical care to those who need it. What makes these clinics truly accessible and separates them from other resources available is that they require no identification or prior paperwork and are completely free for anyone seeking care.

CWRU has had a RAM chapter for several years, but until this spring, its efforts were focused on traveling and servicing other cities’ pop-up clinics. Just a few weeks ago, from Feb. 28 to March 1, RAM conducted its first pop-up clinic here in Cleveland. Fourth-year student, Fareeda Farhan Naduvil Valappil, was a major contributor to the organization and outreach for RAM’s first pop-up clinic.

How does something like this come together? Like all great stories, this one begins with an email chain. According to Valappil, CWRU’s RAM chapter had never been able to host a clinic in Cleveland before, but that did not stop her from reaching out to companies and RAM nationals to start organizing. She said it was difficult to get funders to take undergraduates seriously, but in two years, Valappil and her chapter raised $34,000 in grants from organizations, including Delta Dental of Ohio, Anthem Insurance and the F.B. Heron Foundation. With financial assistance and RAM national support, CWRU RAM coordinated with Principal Michelle Perez from John Hay High School to host the clinic for the weekend.

Although arranging the technical components of a clinic like this is crucial, it would not be possible without the involvement of the community. For CWRU RAM, the support of the Cleveland community was essential. Specifically, Valappil discussed the importance of planning alongside the community to ensure those seeking care at the clinic can share their needs and perspectives.
Furthermore, awareness of events like these is just as important; a clinic without patients is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. Valappil voiced her biggest worry about planning this clinic was not having people show up. This fear was mitigated with intense door-to-door outreach and immense community awareness. One patient even said they heard about the clinic through ChatGPT.

On Friday, Feb. 27, 20 tents were set up in the John Hay’s High School gymnasium in preparation for the clinic’s first day. Simultaneously, people began lining up in the parking lot to camp overnight in hopes to secure their spot when the clinic opened at 5:00 a.m. When the clinic opened the next day, it hit full capacity within hours. It took just one hour for the dental clinic to reach full capacity, and only two for the vision clinic. Valappil shared that the only limiting factor was the space of the rooms they were in; they physically could not fit more people in the gymnasium.

While peak capacity is proof of an incredibly successful event, it further shows the health inequality faced by Clevelanders today. The simple fact that people were camping in a parking lot overnight to receive basic medical care reflects the gaps in the political, socioeconomic and healthcare systems. Valappil discussed the implications of dental and vision care not being covered by most insurance companies. Because they are so hard to come by, individuals already struggling with healthcare insecurity simply cannot prioritize non-life-threatening diseases. Even though oral health has been proven to be associated with several life-threatening conditions, insurance companies deny thousands of people access to this care.

Thanks to CWRU dental students and volunteer oral surgeons, the pop-up clinic provided cleanings, dental X-rays and even oral surgeries. Valappil shared that she witnessed people in immense oral pain receive immediate relief following their dental procedure. The same went for those receiving vision care. Because eye problems aren’t seen as life-threathening, resources are hard to come by. However, with their on-site eye exams, the clinic was able to not only provide prescriptions, but also make the lenses and put them in frames in real time.

One of the volunteer coordinators on the Community Host Group for this clinic, third-year student Shreshtha Das, shared a story about an unhoused individual whose prescription required specialized lenses. The glasses couldn’t be shipped by mail because this individual did not have a working address.

“I worked with the clinic coordinators, ophthalmologists and opticians to come up with a solution,” Das said. “We were able to make the glasses on site.That experience reinforced for me how important teamwork and adaptability are in patient care, especially when standard systems don’t work for everyone.”

The unfortunate condition many individuals find themselves in today is a result of those standard systems not working for everyone. As CWRU students, we have the unique opportunity to get involved in our community in an astonishing number of ways. Mitigating the effects of healthcare inequality is no easy feat, but this pop-up clinic showed that we can make a huge difference in hundreds of people’s lives. Like all worthwhile activities, this one took time, care and effort from over a hundred volunteers. Seeing the success of this pop-up, CWRU’s RAM is hosting another next spring and encourages those interested to participate.

When asked about what goals RAM had for their second time around, Valappil replied simply.
“Do this clinic, but do it bigger and better.”