Hundreds flock to West Philadelphia for free cavity fillings and Pap smears
Remote Area Medical is best known for providing free health services in poor, rural areas. But Philadelphia has proven a worthwhile stop.
Hundreds of people flocked to a temporary medical clinic Saturday for free cavity fillings, Pap smears, and glasses, with some patients already outside when the clinic opened its doors at 6 a.m.
At the School of the Future in West Philadelphia, dental patients sat in rows by the bleachers in the gymnasium, waiting to be seen, while vision patients squinted in the darkened auditorium downstairs.
The clinic was run by Remote Area Medical, a Tennessee-based nonprofit best known for providing free health services to patients in remote parts of the world, as well as the rural United States.
But Philadelphia — the poorest big city in the country, where about 7% of the population doesn’t have health insurance — has proven to be a worthwhile stop. This is the third time the clinic has visited the city, in partnership with the nonprofit DentMed Inc. and the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office. (The clinic will be open again Sunday.)
» READ MORE: A free pop-up clinic offering dental, vision, and medical services returns to Philadelphia
By the time the clinic closed on day one, 226 people had registered as patients — no ID or insurance information required.
It’s possible the need will only grow in the next few years. Under changes passed in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania residents who currently have insurance will no longer be able to afford it or will become uninsured because they do not meet strict new reenrollment criteria, according to state officials. An additional 300,000 Pennsylvania residents who have free or low-cost insurance through Medicaid may lose it, according to estimates from Gov. Josh Shapiro.
At the West Philadelphia clinic, the uninsured and the underinsured were eager for basic care.
Angel Soto, 57, has diabetes and had run out of his high blood pressure medication. He also worried about pain radiating from the back of his ear down his arm that had recently sent him to the emergency room. He has no health insurance, unable to afford the monthly costs.
“I’m not sure the next time I can see a doctor,” Soto mused, as he waited in the library to be seen by a RAM physician. “I’m always worried.”
The effort is almost entirely volunteer-run, drawing physicians, nurses, dentists, optometric techs, and general volunteers from across Philadelphia and the country. Their day began around 5 a.m. on Saturday.
“I grew up seeing a lot of disenfranchised groups of people who weren’t able to receive the quality medical care they deserved,” said Hafsah Ahmad, a 21-year-old Philadelphia resident and volunteer who oversaw patient registration. “I always thought that was very unfair, and I wanted to play my part in reducing barriers to care.”
Some patients had not been to a doctor in years. Anna Gao struggled with her vision and had not seen an eye doctor in five years. She was leaving with new glasses.
“This is a great chance for me,” she said. “I’m so thankful.”
Thaisa Richards, 56, brought her two grandchildren from Germantown to the clinic, arriving at 7 a.m. Both kids are uninsured, she said, and they needed physicals for the school year and dental checks. Richards ended up getting a physical, too.
Her granddaughter, Aubrey Johnson, chewed on a dental gauze roll to ease the discomfort after a filling. Her grandson also got a cavity filled.
“The tooth is not going to be a problem,” RAM dentist Adam Yang told Richards. “I know he hasn’t gotten a lot of fillings before, so if it bothers him, take some painkillers.”
“It didn’t hurt at all,” Dylan Johnson, 14, said. “They did it right on the spot.”