Jay Byrnes, Ashland Board of Health Member, has begun preparations for a Remote Area Medical (RAM) Clinic, which is planned to take place on Aug. 12-13.  

RAM is a pop-up medical, dental, vision clinic that provides free healthcare services to those in need around the country. Jay statesd, “It is true that most people in Massachusetts have health insurance. However, it is also true that most health insurance plans do not cover dental care and require significant out-of-pocket expense for vision, and in some cases, medical care. And of course, some people simply do not have health insurance.”  

He went on to state the overall mission of the clinic is vital to helping members of our community.  

“Our goal for this weekend pop-up clinic is to provide dental, vision, and medical care to any person in need on a first come, first served basis. We will also offer information about other community services and help coordinate follow-up care. We are currently working with local organizations to accomplish these goals. Generally, we view this event as another way to build our community, and we encourage people to be involved in any capacity.”

Planning for a clinic can take a year, or more. Jay first brought this concept to the Board back in February, and has been giving updates to the Board at each meeting since.  

Jay and his CHG (Community Host Group) Team (Ed Burman, Ed Hart and Steve Mitchell) have already made some great progress. They met with representatives from RAM at Keefe Tech H.S. which was accepted as an approved location. They recently visited another RAM Clinic which was held in Lynn, MA, to see how things worked out there, and to see what they could learn from it. They have also met with key people from FSU, Senator Spilka’s Office, and the City of Framingham.  

Volunteers will be needed to run a successful weekend, to volunteer go to: https://volunteer.ramusa.org 

To donate to this cause go to: RAM Framingham August 2023 www.foundationmw.org/give/donate-now/