U.Va. Medical Team Heading to Grundy, Va. Free Clinic

October 2, 2008 —  A volunteer team of 30 doctors, nurses, social workers and pharmacists from the University of Virginia Health System will provide medical care at the Oct. 4-5 Remote Area Medical Clinic in Grundy, Va. The two-day event offers no-fee dental, vision and medical care to people who are uninsured, underinsured, unemployed or cannot afford to pay.

Open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, the clinic will operate from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and from 7 a.m. to noon on Sunday at Riverview Elementary School on Route 450 West.
 
"Our team cared for 132 patients last year, and we expect numbers to be the same this year," said Dr. Scott Syverud, an emergency department physician who serves as U.Va.'s medical director for the annual Remote Area Medical clinics in Grundy and nearby Wise, Va.

In addition to general medical care, U.Va. will provide endocrine and pharmacy services, EKGs, Peripheral Artery Disease screenings and diabetes education.
 
The Grundy clinic is one of dozens of ongoing outreach activities through which U.Va. augments the primary healthcare services available in far Southwest Virginia. Specialty teams in neurology, pulmonology, neuro-development, orthopedics, endocrinology, cardiology and genetics regularly travel to the region to conduct clinics for adults and children.

Each July, hundreds of medical professionals from U.Va. volunteer at the Remote Area Medical Clinic in Wise. In addition to on-site care, a wide array of U.Va. specialists offer telemedicine consultations at hospitals, health departments, correctional facilities and community health centers in the region. In all, U.Va. provides more than 6,500 patient encounters annually to residents of far Southwest Virginia.
 
"U.Va. has a huge commitment to providing critically needed health care services to people in the coalfield counties," said Dr. Karen Rheuban, a pediatric cardiologist who conducts clinics in the region and who also serves as medical director of U.Va.'s Office of Telemedicine. "We're working closely and collaboratively with local government agencies, community organizations and nonprofits to deliver specialty health care services in a way that is flexible, resilient and sustainable."
 

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