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After 30 years of meeting medical needs, RAM (Remote Area Medical) returned to Hancock County Saturday representing Stan Brock’s first medical clinic in America.

Stan Brock is remembered by many Americans through a television series he co-hosted called “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.”

But what Brock is more recently remembered for is founding an organization out of Knoxville Tennessee called RAM, Remote Area Medical to offer medical services to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Brock had a personal experience while living among the Wapishana Indians in Guyana, South America.

The tribe was 26 days away from medical care which America takes for granted.

After seeing hundreds of needless deaths, Brock vowed to do whatever was in his power to offer basic healthcare services to those in need.

He founded RAM in 1985 to mobilize medical missions primarily from Northeast Tennessee to travel to remote areas of the world providing medical care. Brock died at the age of 82 and was considered one the most impactful local humanitarians of recent times.

In 1992, Brock was challenged to begin serving some of the nation’s most financially distressed families that lived in Appalachia. Sneedville, Tennessee became the focal point for RAM’s first American clinic. Since that first clinic, RAM has grown to make a significant healthcare impact by offering clinics all across the nation and in 38 years has offered more than $189.5 million in medical mission services.

RAM staff indicated today teams are dispatched nearly week of the year. Wise Virginia is one of the annual locations where RAM Clinics operate having served over 100,000 people in that one location alone.

Some larger RAM Clinics draw hundreds of providers (healthcare specialist) and thousands of residents needing services.

On RAM’s 30th Anniversary of serving in America, RAM set up in Sneedville where the very first clinic took place. It also coincided that Friday, April 21, was Stan Brock’s birthday, for the April 22nd Clinic.

Cars begin lining up registering at 6 p.m., the night before the clinic began. Team volunteer members from around East Tennessee set up Friday to provide medical, dental and vision services and then the clinic officially opened at 8 a.m. Saturday morning.

This RAM Clinic representing their 30th anniversary required a host of local volunteers as well as skill medical volunteers that travel with RAM. This clinic pulled together groups from across the county

RAM leaders Kim Faulkinbury, clinic coordinator and local clinic coordinator in training HollyAnn Barnes with Shannon Kelly, volunteer coordinator, were present to direct set-up, break-down and give guidance to volunteer providers and laypeople that came to help.

Over 40 providers and volunteers were on hand to serve residents who needed help.

In addition, the National Guard directed traffic. Residents parked a couple of blocks away at the Sneedville Elementary School and were shuttled back and forth by Anderson Transportation and The Mission.

Local groups, the “Hen’s Social” and “The Gathering Place of Sneedville” and “The Diner” provided food for workers. Jubilee Project and The Farmhouse provided sleeping quarters for many of them.

Leslie Scott and members of the Hancock County Health Department were the local planners and coordinators with Of One Accord Ministry acting as the fiscal agent.

RAM staff and volunteers as well as local hosts felt Saturday’s Clinic was very successful and tentatively stated RAM leaders would look at the possibility of coming back next year.