OLEAN, N.Y. — Remote Area Medical returns to Olean for the third time on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 13 and 14. For the second time, the clinic will be held at the YMCA on Wayne Street.
The Y also hosted the last Olean RAM event in September 2023. The first clinic to come to the city was in 2021 at the downtown SUNY Jamestown Community College Cattaraugus County Campus.
A move to the YMCA two years ago provided more space to serve more people.
“With its large gymnasium and activity areas, the YMCA is an ideal location for RAM,” said Paula Snyder, JCC’s Cattaraugus County Campus executive director who is helping organize the clinic. “We are thankful for JCC’s partnership with the Y and to the Y team for opening their doors to these important clinics that provide medical, dental, and vision care at no cost for people in our community and beyond.”
the 2023 Remote Area Medical clinic.
Jeff Townsend, CEO of the YMCA of the Twin Tiers, said the Y building takes on an entirely different form when RAM staff arrives with its semi-truck full of equipment and personnel.
Two sections of the gym will transform into a dental clinic, while a third area will host an ophthalmology lab. Meanwhile, the Activity Center for teens will become a check-in and triage area, while the preschool room will be home to the main medical clinic.
Other spaces throughout the building will offer areas for local service providers to set up information tables.
“Due to the number of services being offered and the high volume of patients needing to be served,” Townsend said, “the YMCA will be closed to members for traditional YMCA activities like swimming and working out.”
More than 350 patients came through the YMCA to receive care during the 2023 clinic. Thanks to the addition of free busing to and from many locations in Allegany County and Salamanca through Ardent Solutions, Snyder expects more than 500 patients this time.
Townsend said the 2023 clinic was a “huge success” and the Y is ready for any number of patients to walk through its doors.
“The clinic in 2023 was outstanding,” he added. “It was a well-orchestrated event that successfully moved providers and patients seamlessly throughout the YMCA facility. It was amazing to see the Y transform into a medical center, and truthfully it was great practice to see what the YMCA facility could support in the event of an emergency in our area.”
The clinic runs 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 13 and 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sept. 14. Many wishing to receive care often arrive the night before the clinic begins.
With plans for the YMCA transformation in place, Townsend said: “We are focusing our efforts on spreading the word and ensuring that the community knows what RAM is all about.”
RAM is a Tennessee non-profit that provides medical, dental, and vision care at no cost to anyone and does not require insurance. Hundreds of healthcare and general volunteers deliver services that make the clinic possible.
“No identification is required, and no names,” Snyder said. “People can just come for the services they need. They do not need to be afraid. It's completely anonymous.”
Snyder and JCC, along with St. Bonaventure University’s BonaResponds and its leader Jim Mahar, are co-hosts for the clinic. Additional local organizations are contributing to the event through donations, services, and volunteer work, or have also been members of the important steering committee since January 2025.
These members include Olean City Schools, Cattaraugus County Health Department nurses, Intandem, the Warming House, several members of the area spiritual communities such as St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Bethany Lutheran Church, St. Mary of the Angels Basilica, Mt. Zion Christian Assembly, Christ United Methodist Church, and Fr. Stephen Mimnaugh from St. Bonaventure University.
Snyder added that there are many Olean organizational leaders and entities that provide healthcare and services to those in need in our counties. “We thank all of them for every part they played in bringing this wonderful event to Olean again,” she said.