Project Detail: Where poverty makes sick

Contest:

Women photographers exhibition 2016



Brand:

LuganoPhotoDays



Author:

Jelca Kollatsch

Status:
Selected

 

Project Info

Where poverty makes sick

33 million people in the United States of America have no health insurance. Promising to reform the healthcare system, among other things, US President Barack Obama won his election campaign in 2008. But despite ‘Obamacare’ many people still have no access to basic medical care, particularly in rural areas. The regulations for the new mandatory insurance are complicated. To fill the gap most people must rely on charitable institutions such as ‘Remote Area Medical‘ (RAM), where physicians work as volunteers. Temporary clinics are built for a weekend, for example, in schools. Some patients wait for days in lines to make sure they get free treatment.

In Appalachia – in the eastern USA – the need is greatest. An estimated 180,000 people in various circumstances are excluded from regular health care.

Photos

During the clinic of Remote Area Medical (RAM) it is worked on up to 100 dentist chairs at the same

Amanda Amezcua is suffering with her husband who gets four teeth pulled and fillings on others. At a

In the early morning hours patients wait in the rain for the doors to open for medical treatment at

The dental health of many people in the US is devastating, it’s called an „Oral Health Crisis“

For many people in the US dental as well a s vision treatment is a financial load. RAM makes all pre

The volunteering dental students get the pulled teeth collected for their practice purposes at their

For uninsured people many diseases often remain undiagnosed, for example diabetes. The burden of the

Overnight the patients sleep in their cars. They arrive at least one day early to the clinic for bet