May 31, 2026
About 300 people received no-cost vision, dental care at Ferris State through partnership with Remote Area Medical
Tom Hicks is a 1975 Ferris State University graduate from Oxford, Ohio who came back to campus this weekend to volunteer at the Remote Area Medical clinic because he says there is no better feeling than giving back.
About 300 people received medical care at no cost at the clinic, a partnership between the Tennessee-based non-profit organization and Ferris State University.
Volunteers that included Ferris State faculty, staff, and students provided dental and vision care and addressed other medical needs at the clinic, which stretched from early Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon.
Becky Johnson-Himes, a professor in Ferris State’s School of Nursing, led the effort with Nursing professor Stephanie Gustman.
She said the response, which topped the number of people served a year ago, shows the growing need for healthcare in our community.
“Many of the people who were treated are working one or two part-time jobs,” Johnson-Himes said. If they received health benefits at all, they often don’t have coverage for vision and dental needs.”
The bulk of the people served were from West Michigan, but some patients came from great distances.
“There was a person here from Biloxi, Mississippi who has been waiting since Wednesday because they heard about the clinic and needed help,” she said. “Another person came from Columbus, Ohio. She took two buses and a train to get here.”
Faculty and students from Ferris State’s College of Health Professions, Michigan College of Optometry, and College of Pharmacy, and other fields will work alongside professionals and volunteers from across the region to provide care.
About 300 people received free medical care, which was possible through a partnership between Remote Area Medical and Ferris State University.
RAM has collaborated with community partners to provide free healthcare to 1.04 million people across the nation since 1985. The clinic was open to any adult or child. No proof of ID or insurance was required. Translators were available for patients who may not use English as their primary language.
The clinic this year included what organizers believed to be the nation’s first mobile denture lab. Patients had their mouths scanned by equipment in a corner of the Wink Arena, with images sent to a lab in Knoxville. The dentures were designed on computers in Tennessee, with information sent back to 3-D printers set up in the arena.
Dr. Daniel Taylor, dean of Ferris State’s Michigan College of Optometry, said eyeglasses were also created in a mobile lab, based on eye exams in the Bulldog Arena.
“It means so much to people to be able to see clearly because it affects everything they do,” he said. “When you put those new glasses on for the first time, their whole face lights up.”
Hundreds of volunteers supported the event. Anjali Agnihotram, a Biomedical Engineering student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, was volunteering for the first time. She was working with Pooja Pandya, a recent Penn State University graduate who was volunteering at her 13th RAM clinic.
“We study in the classroom, and it is fun to see how that information is used practically,” said Agnihotram, who helped in the dental area of the clinic. “Healthcare is very expensive in the U.S. and not every is getting the treatment they need. It’s very fulfilling to see them getting help here.”
Hicks earned an associate degree in Opticianry at Ferris State in 1974 and completed his bachelor’s degree in management a year later. He is a career licensed dispensing optician who volunteering at his first RAM clinic but has helped at vision care clinics in Jamica and other struggling nations for years.
“One time we gave glasses to a child who looked up at his mother and said, ‘So that’s what you look like,’” he said. “It’s moments like that that tell you how important this work is.”