St. Bonaventure University

A Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic is returning to Olean this month and two longtime service organizations at St. Bonaventure are lending their support.

BonaResponds, founded 20 years ago by SBU finance professor Dr. Jim Mahar in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, will supply volunteers for the two-day event, to be held Sept. 13-14 at the Olean YMCA.

The Warming House, the student-led soup kitchen in Olean since 1975, will be preparing meals for the patients. All volunteers need to formally register at the RAM website; people interested in seeking medical care do not have to register in advance.

“We are in pretty good shape with the number of volunteers we have, and I believe the Warming House is, too,” Mahar said. “What we really need to do is encourage people who need medical, dental or eye care to attend. I’ve volunteered at a number of RAM clinics and there are so many stories of people coming from hundreds of miles away. It’s often a life-changing event for them.”

People interested in seeking care are encouraged to arrive early. The doors open at 6 a.m. Sept. 13 but people can arrive at the YMCA parking lot six hours before. Patients will check in and then get notified by text when it’s their turn. Volunteers will notify people who don’t have a phone.

“RAM is an impactful event for the Southern Tier, offering free medical, dental, and eye care to people without health insurance, who cannot afford co-pays, or who have limited transportation,” said Fr. Stephen Mimnaugh, O.F.M., vice president for Mission Integration at SBU. “RAM is a tangible expression of compassion and aligns perfectly with our Franciscan mission.” 

The clinic will remain open until 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, so early arrival is important for people seeking care on day two of the clinic. On Saturday, the clinic will serve patients until late afternoon so people should arrive to sign in by mid-afternoon to ensure they can be seen on Saturday.

The Olean YMCA, Jamestown Community College, Olean City Schools, BonaResponds and the Warming House are sponsors of the event.

Since 1985, Remote Area Medical (RAM) has provided free health care services to those in need through the operation of mobile pop-up clinics around the country.

RAM’s free clinics deliver quality services to underserved and uninsured individuals who do not have access to or cannot afford a doctor. Nearly 1 million people have received free care from RAM over the last 40 years.

RAM clinics offer a variety of free dental, vision and medical services.

• Dental patients can receive cleanings, fillings, extractions and X-rays.
• Patients needing vision services can receive eye exams, eye health evaluations, eyeglass prescriptions, and pick out frames to have their eyeglasses made on-site in its mobile vision lab.
• RAM patients also have access to a variety of medical services based on clinic volunteer specialties, including podiatrists, family doctors, women’s health and more.
  

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).