News
Cookeville RAM Clinic saw large attendance, saved patients over $318,000
Above: 50 tents are set up inside the RAM clinic for individuals to receive dental
care.
The recent Remote Area Medical Clinic hosted by the Upper Cumberland Community Host
Group and organized by Tennessee Tech University students provided patients with over
$318,000 of medical care at no cost to those individuals.
The clinic served 570 individual patients, surpassing the number seen in past years,
with 332 patients attending a RAM clinic for the first time. 302 patients traveled
over 20 miles to the clinic, with 73 traveling over 100 miles and 19 of those driving
over 200 miles to receive care.
In 2021 the Cookeville group changed its name to the Upper Cumberland Community Host
Group. That change was made because they wanted to reach out not just to the Cookeville
community but the entire Upper Cumberland.
“Sixty-one percent of our patients were at their first RAM clinic, so I can say that
we were successful in reaching out to new people. There are a lot of people that travel
to many of the RAM Clinics, and I am glad that we are able to provide that service
to them, but I am proud to say that we were able to reach out to a lot of new people
and have the Cookeville clinic be their first exposure to RAM,” Alex Stovall, head
lead for the UCCHG, said. “I say this because I know that here in Cookeville, we have
a very high standard for the quality of service we provide and am glad that we were
able to serve these new patients with that quality of care.”
Above: Tech students pose for a group photo. From left: Dominick Coker (Parking Lot/Fundraising
Lead), Austin McCowan (Recruitment Lead), Maggie Teat (Promotions Lead), Alex Stovall
(Head Lead), Alexander Coker (Hospitality Lead).
For 105 patients, this recent RAM clinic was only the second they had ever attended,
with 19 patients having attended five or more RAM Clinics in the past.
“I can say that we met that goal with flying colors. This has been our best promotional
and volunteering push to date, and it paid off,” Stovall said.
The need for dental services was evident with 927 extractions, 174 fillings and 68
cleanings. Vision care needs were also high with 446 patients receiving glasses. The
medical care team was also busy, performing 120 medical exams.
The patients seen at the RAM Clinic all had different life stories and were from various
backgrounds. One patient walked to the clinic for care, while another hitchhiked to
get there. One was an Alaskan native, while one was a native Hawaiian and one family
had over 10 members receiving care.
The medical team saw 122 patients who had either never received medical care, had
not received care in at least 10 years, or could not remember last receiving care.
Ninety-five of the patients had never had an eye exam and 130 had never been to a
dentist or had not been to the dentist in over 10 years.
“I want to reiterate how well this clinic went," added Stovall. "Because we keep having
it every year and the host group's mentality is always pushing to improve from the
previous year, we had easy issues that were solved with easy solutions.”
The UCCHG will have different Tech students in lead roles for the 2024 RAM clinic.
Alexander Coker will be head lead; Kendal Ludick, promotion lead; Brayden Copeland,
recruitment lead; Ethan Levoy, hospitality lead; Will Collier, parking lot lead; and
Dominick Coker, fundraising lead. 
Above: The commons and medical triage area at the RAM clinic.
“Next year will be even better than this year's clinic, and I can't wait to see how
this next year's host group continues to push the envelope,” Stovall said. “The Cookeville
RAM clinic has become a staple clinic over the years, and it would not be without
the amazing host group members here at Tennessee Tech. They are the heart and soul
of this clinic.”
For more information on RAM clinics visit https://www.ramusa.org/.
