By Joan Raymond |
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Aug 5, 2008 | Updated: 8:08 a.m. ET Aug 5, 2008
Stan Brock on the challenges of founding a volunteer medical corps to treat some of America's many uninsured and underinsured.
Mobilizing a Medical Corps08/05/08: Thousands of volunteers and medical professionals descended on a small town in Southwest Virginia for three days in July to set up a massive free clinic under the auspices of Remote Area Medical, a non-profit health care organization.
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Since 1985, RAM volunteers, about 37,000 strong, have provided more than $33 million in free care on some 600 expeditions around the country, but mainly in the medically underserved areas of Tennessee and Virginia. They've made more than 70,000 glasses and have extracted nearly 110,000 teeth. And their vets have seen about 64,000 animals. RAM founder Stan Brock believes there is still a lot more work to be done. Brock, best-known for his stint as the animal-wrangling co-star of the iconic television show "Wild Kingdom," is no stranger to living rough. He grew up in the Central Amazon Basin and spent 15 years as general manager of the 4,000-square-mile Rupununi Development Company Dadanawa Ranch in Guyana. Brock started RAM to provide care to people in Third World countries. Today, about 60 percent of the group's care is provided to folks in rural America. He spoke to NEWSWEEK's Joan Raymond about why he set up camp in the United States. Excerpts.
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NEWSWEEK: How did you become interested in medical care?
Stan Brock: I lived with the Wapishana Indians in the Central Amazon Basin for many years. We didn't have health care. The nearest town was more than 30 days' walk.
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Are you surprised by the turnout in the United States?
I don't know if surprised is the right word. I'm humbled that these people entrust their care to us, but I'm also saddened. These are good people who have just fallen through the cracks of a health care system. They don't have the money to buy their services, especially dental, and if they are employed, many plans have deductibles that are too high for these people. If you're a child in this country, chances are good that you will have coverage. It's the adults, these young adults and middle-aged adults, that need the most help.
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Is it a problem providing charity care in the U.S.?
The biggest problem we have is licensure; it's easier for a U.S. doctor to go to Guyana and provide care then it is to cross state lines and provide charity care. We ran into problems when we tried to help after Hurricane Katrina. I recently testified in front of the House Ways and Means Committee and told them the biggest impediment to providing free care is that volunteer health providers holding licenses in one state are not allowed to provide free care in another state. The good news is that the state of Tennessee changed this back in 1995. They have the Volunteer Health Care Services Act, which means that volunteer medical help and veterinarians licensed anywhere in the U.S. can come into Tennessee to provide free care. There was a resolution back in 1997 to try and see if other states could adopt the Tennessee model. As far as I know, it never got out of committee.
We have millions WITHOUT healthcare and there are volunteers who will fill that gap on a small scale and provide care, BUT they have a license problem?
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