Resources

By far, RAM's most important resource is our volunteer pool. Over the years, more than 59,000 volunteers have participated in RAM expeditions and activities.

To see our current schedule of clinics, click here.

Learn more about the work volunteers perform at clinics.

You can also learn about expeditions where resources are utilized.

One of our best-known resources is the Douglas DC-3 that we use to deliver supplies and people whenever possible. We also have a Cessna 206, a Beech 18, and have access to a Cessna 150. For many years, RAM has depended on aging aircraft, such as our C47/DC3, to transport cargo and volunteers when necessary. While these legacy aircraft have served us well in the limited regions in which we regularly perform expeditions, many factors make them less-than-ideal for nation-wide operations.

RAM King Air

Our air fleet now includes a donated King Air C-90, a twin-turboprop aircraft, with pressurization and significantly more speed than any of our other planes, to carry RAM volunteers anywhere in the US where RAM is invited and allowed to operate. It can be used to transport clinic planners and volunteer staff to far away locales for multiple purposes, from planning for scheduled clinics to disaster relief.

More about these aircraft can be found on the Aviation page.

RAM Headquarters facilities are leased to us from Knox County, TN at the very affordable rate of one dollar per year. The RAM Headquarters building is an old school building with a great deal of floorspace for us to keep and organize donated supplies. The Remote Area Medical® hangar, at an airport close to headquarters, is made available to us by the Knoxville Metropolitan Airport Authority. It shelters the DC-3 and the other Remote Area Medical® aircraft.

RAM operates a collection of trucks and trailers, all donated, to move equipment to and from expeditions. We carry enough equipment and supplies to operate 52 dental stations, 48 of which are complete with portable chair, drill/suction setup, and hand tools. In addition, we have enough vision equipment to set up 20 eye exam lanes, as well as an ample supply of frames and lenses for making eyeglasses on site at expeditions. This equipment is divided between RAM's Rural AMerica and
Reach Across AMerica Progams and allows for the efficient delivery of dental and vision services by licensed volunteer practitioners at RAM clinics across the United States.

We have recently added a new mobile optical lab to our fleet for the Rural AMerica program. We expect that this new addition will allow for increased productivity as well as the ability to travel to more distant remote and rural areas.

This new optical lab is outfitted with the same state of the art equipment that resides in the lower deck of the Reach Across AMerica tractor trailer. Our lenses are a mix of donated and purchased new lenses. Frames are all new and donated, and are a broad mix of styles.

The Reach Across AMerica program utilizes a converted race car hauler, which holds a complete eye lab on the lower deck and enough space to haul 30 mobile dental stations, equipment for up to six eye exam lanes, and various other supplies and equipment necessary to operate a free dental and vision clinic. The eye lab on the lower deck carries an inventory of 10,000 prescription lenses and has the capability of making 300 pairs of glasses per day.

Since the inception of the program, the Reach Across AMerica truck has joined the rest of the RAM fleet in transporting equipment for RAM clinics in Appalachia as well as clinics in Utah, California, Oklahoma, and Illinois.