A nonprofit that provides free healthcare services will bring a pop-up medical clinic to Pearisburg next week.
Remote Area Medical, known as RAM, provides free dental, vision and medical services to people living in underserved and isolated communities. Patients do not need insurance or identification to access free care.
The clinic will operate Nov. 7 and 8 at Giles High School, 1825 Wenonah Avenue.
Services will include general medical exams, pregnancy tests, breast and pelvic exams, dental cleanings and extractions, eye exams, and prescription glasses made on-site, according to a press release.
Patients should arrive early. The clinic’s parking lot opens at midnight, but patients often arrive several hours earlier and spend the night in their cars. RAM advises patients that arriving earlier increases their chances of receiving care.
This will be RAM’s second pop-up clinic in Pearisburg, but the nonprofit has a decades-long history of serving rural Appalachian communities. Founded in Tennessee in 1985, RAM began holding pop-up clinics in Virginia around 1999 in Wise County.
The need for accessible healthcare remains significant in Appalachia. The region has higher mortality rates than the rest of the country for heart disease, cancer, COPD, injury, stroke, diabetes and other conditions, according to data from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
RAM clinics also provide opportunities for future healthcare professionals to learn how to work together to improve patient care. A study published in the Journal of Appalachian Health examined how RAM’s clinics affect students training for healthcare careers.
RAM relies on volunteers to provide medical, dental and vision care. Those volunteers include students from medical and dental schools who work alongside professionals and students from other healthcare fields.
The study found that working with these teams helped students better understand how different healthcare professionals collaborate and improved their ability to work together. That teamwork can also benefit patients by improving the care they receive.
RAM held clinics in 27 states last year and provided free care to more than 32,500 people, according to the organization’s 2025 impact report. Its latest tax returns, made public because it’s a nonprofit organization, show a $19 million budget. Its clinics are concentrated primarily in the South and Northeast, though RAM also operates clinics in Nevada.
