Sunday, August 23, 2009

Why Having Cutting-Edge Medical Technology Doesn't Matter




I would like to introduce you to Remote Area Medical, or RAM. RAM is a medical charity that was started by Wild Kingdom's own Stan Brock, back in 1985.


For 15 years, Stan Brock, worked with the Wapishana Indians, in the Amazon. The idea for RAM came from his experiences there. "He lived with the pain and suffering created by isolation from medical care. He witnessed the near devastation of whole tribes by what would have been simple or minor illnesses to more advanced cultures. When he left South America to co-star in the television series, "Wild Kingdom, " he vowed to find a way to deliver basic medical aid to people in the world's inaccessible regions."


He did it, too.

However, here is where the story gets weird; approximately 64% of RAM's current medical expeditions are IN THE USA!

I was shocked by that fact.( You know, REMOTE Area Medical.) So, I contacted RAM. I wanted to know how they came to be providing free healthcare for residents in Inglewood, CA. Karen Wilson, the Executive Director, answered my email . (Thank you, Karen.) Here is what she said; "Soon after the airing of the Remote Area Medical (RAM) segment on 60 Minutes last year, we were contacted by several people and groups about the need in Los Angeles. A friend of RAM and its founder happened to be a resident there and offered to help organize the event. Since we understand that people can be as economically remote from medical care as geographically, we pursued it."


Please, pay special attention to her last sentence.


Since we understand that people can be as ECONOMICALLY remote from medical care as GEOGRAPHICALLY, we pursued it.


That is why, for MILLIONS of Americans, it doesn't really matter that we have cutting-edge medical technology available, because it isn't available to THEM.








Sources: http://www.ramusa.org/index.html
Karen Wilson, Executive Director of Remote Area Medical (RAM)
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Money_g61-Counting_The_Pennies_p5770.html

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