35 Lions from District 24-A participated in the Lions Assisted Medical Project on July 18th through 20th in Wise Virginia. The details of the event are massive, involving 1396 volunteers 3738 meals served to volunteers, and 2292 residents from Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.
Wise, Virginia sits nestled deep in the heart of the
Appalachian Mountains not far from the borders.
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| Lions 1st Vice District Governor, Jim Ryan serving meals to volunteers at the Lions Assisted Medical Project in July 2013 |
Every
July, this small town plays host to a sea of humanity when the Remote Area
Medical project arrives at the local Fairgrounds. The Lions of Virginia answered the call to
for the 14th year to serve on the 18th through the 20th
of July. This year’s event brought
together 1396 volunteers, including over 125 Lions members. Together, they provided essential medical services
to close to 2292 residents from the surrounding area. Lions from the Lions Assisted Medical
Project(L.A.M.P) worked registration, provided vision and hearing screenings,
handed out prescription eyeglasses, handed out school supplies, served 3738
meals to the volunteers, and escorted patients from one area of care to the
next.
The Lions Assisted Medical Project is a Lions of Virginia
project term coined in 2005 for all medical projects in which Lions Club
members are involved. After our involvement
in the Remote Area Medical Expeditions that have taken place over the last 14
years, L.A.M.P. has branched out the services beyond Remote Area Medical,
meriting a unique moniker.
Remote Area Medical began offering medical and health
services in 1985 and has been expanding its operations with the help of eager veterinary
and medical volunteers for years. The
mission of Remote Area Medical “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.” (ramusa.org/about/mission.htm)
Thanks to the Assistance of the Lions of
Virginia and the L.A.M.P., the Expedition at Wise, VA has been able to grow
quite large offering care to over two thousand local residents annually from Virginia
and the surrounding states of Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and
North Carolina.
Two days into the event, Michael Ryan, Governor of District
24-A had this to say. “Vision Screening at the Lions
Assisted Medical Project (L.A.M.P.)at the Rural Area Medicine (R.A.M.) Wise
County event, the Lions have screened over [hundreds of] patients for Sight and
Hearing Disorders, referring most for Eye Exams and Glasses, and we still have
a half day to go. Besides eye and hearing care, the people of SW Virginia,
Eastern Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky, get their annual medical and dental
care. It is an eye opening experience!” and “We
have Lions doing Pediavision, working in registration, dispensing Rx Glasses,
helping in the Dental area, handing out school supplies, and running patients
from one area to the next. They all are doing a great job!”
Officially, the total number of eye exams and screenings
administered by Lions was 814 with 699 eyeglasses made and issued. The diligent Lions serving the 3738 meals to
the volunteers worked over 800 hours preparing meals and servers spent another
300 hours serving.
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