People waited in their cars because it was raining heavily. The result was a long line of cars that snaked its way from the entrance of the makeshift clinic set up in a school gymnasium. Some of them slept in their cars overnight, waiting as long as 12 hours to be seen by a doctor for common problems. The scene described above is not one from a third-world country or even a developing country. The scene is from Pigeon Forge, Tenn., a community located outside of Knoxville. Most of their conditions were ones that Dr. Richard Huntley, an internist, treats routinely in his Norwalk practice. "There were a lot of patients with undiagnosed conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, gallstones, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, skin infections and yeast infections from wearing damp clothing," Huntley said. "There was a lot of obesity as well since carbs are the main food source in that part of the country plus the least expensive when you are poor because healthy foods cost more money, unfortunately." The health problems weren't massive but the number of patients waiting to be seen was. "I saw 60 patients over a two-day period," Huntley said. "There were 900 patients seen in total by all the doctors, dentists and other specialists over the two days, if you can believe it." Huntley was in Tennessee with Remote Area Medical, a non-profit, volunteer, airborne relief corps founded in 1985 and dedicated to serving mankind by providing free health care, dental care, eye care, veterinary services, and technical and educational assistance to people in remote areas of the United States and the world.
Fiji RPCV Dr. Richard Huntley lends a hand to those in need in Tennessee
Norwalk doctor lends a hand to those in need in Tennessee
Posted on 03/22/2009
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Norwalk doctor lends a hand to those in need in Tennessee
NORWALK
By JILL BODACH
Hour Staff Writer
It gives a whole different meaning to the idea of a waiting room.
People waited in their cars because it was raining heavily. The result was a long line of cars that snaked its way from the entrance of the makeshift clinic set up in a school gymnasium. Some of them slept in their cars overnight, waiting as long as 12 hours to be seen by a doctor for common problems.
The scene described above is not one from a third-world country or even a developing country. The scene is from Pigeon Forge, Tenn., a community located outside of Knoxville.
Most of their conditions were ones that Dr. Richard Huntley, an internist, treats routinely in his Norwalk practice.
"There were a lot of patients with undiagnosed conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, gallstones, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, skin infections and yeast infections from wearing damp clothing," Huntley said. "There was a lot of obesity as well since carbs are the main food source in that part of the country plus the least expensive when you are poor because healthy foods cost more money, unfortunately."
The health problems weren't massive but the number of patients waiting to be seen was.
"I saw 60 patients over a two-day period," Huntley said. "There were 900 patients seen in total by all the doctors, dentists and other specialists over the two days, if you can believe it."
Huntley was in Tennessee with Remote Area Medical, a non-profit, volunteer, airborne relief corps founded in 1985 and dedicated to serving mankind by providing free health care, dental care, eye care, veterinary services, and technical and educational assistance to people in remote areas of the United States and the world.
Huntley's daughter, a pre-med student at Colgate, accompanied him on the trip.
"She was my medical assistant," he said. "She spent most of her time triaging people."
Huntley said he was shocked at the tremendous need for care he saw in Tennessee.
"I was surprised by the number of people who hadn't been seen by a doctor in years because they couldn't afford it and were desperate to be seen, and I heard that there were twice as many people this year as next year because of unemployment," Huntley said. "These are people who fell through the cracks because they aren't poor enough to qualify for Title 19, are employed but are not offered insurance at their jobs, don't know about the programs they are entitled to or haven't made any effort to find out what they're qualified for."
Huntley learned of the need for doctors to work with RAM through a 60-Minutes episode.
"I was in the Peace Corps in the Fiji Islands before medical school, and I wanted to do something charitable with my medical work," he said. "This gave me a chance to do acute care for people who were genuinely appreciative for the care and didn't complain about how the office was run. It was really rewarding for me."
Jill Bodach is a features and general assignment reporter. She may be reached at (203) 354-1046 or jbodach@thehour.com.
