corrente

Isn't it nice that people from this great country, the richest in the world, known as a "hyperpower" in geopolitical circles, has people who go out among the wretched of the earth and Do Good for them?

(via WaPo)

At least 73 people slept in cars overnight, and a handful pitched tents around the fairground in anticipation of the long lines...More than 800 volunteers ran the clinic, sponsored in part by the Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps.

On Friday alone nearly 60 volunteer dentists extracted about 1,300 teeth at the fifth annual free comprehensive health screening. They also completed about 550 fillings and 125 teeth cleanings that day.

"They look at their teeth fatalistically," Dickinson said of the clients in a telephone interview. Many people who came to the clinic lack health insurance and had never visited a dentist before.

About 3,600 people received medical attention, including vision and hearing screenings, Pap smears and electrocardiograms at the annual clinic. Although a few children came to the clinic, most patients were adults or senior citizens who cannot afford medical care from a local provider.

Volunteers who interviewed patients said many of them are former miners who took positions as part-time clerks at Wal-Mart and other local businesses after mine jobs disappeared.

Some volunteers who have participated in medical missions in developing nations compared the area's health profile with what they have seen in the world's poorest countries.

At last year's clinic, a doctor found that a woman had cervical cancer. She was treated at a nearby hospital. In developed countries with strong screening programs, rates of cervical cancer are low.

Yeah, you probably guessed it. This happened to be in southwestern Virginia. I am not, repeat not, mocking up above the medical people and other volunteers who do this project once a year. I just hope they go home and kick butt at their medical societies to work out the details of how we're going to do single-payer care in this country instead of continuing to whine about whether or not it's needed.