Two Eastern Virginia Medical School diabetes specialists represented the school at a giant free clinic July 23-25 at the Wise County, Virginia, Fairgrounds.

The EVMS specialists saw 130 patients and gave away 220 units of donated insulin during the trip. This was the second year a team represented the school and the EVMS Strelitz Diabetes Center at the Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic, which draws thousands of people from across Appalachia for free medical and dental care.

Joseph A. Aloi, MD, an associate professor of internal medicine at EVMS and a diabetes specialist, and Kim Moloney, RN, a certified diabetes educator at the EVMS Diabetes Center, worked 12-hour shifts Friday and Saturday at the site in Southwestern Virginia, about an eight-hour drive from Norfolk.

The EVMS contingent worked alongside other diabetes specialists from across Virginia to provide diabetes care over the course of two days. The makeshift field hospital was set up in an area of the fairgrounds normally reserved for farm animals.

Everyone that comes to the clinic is screened for telltale signs of diabetes. This year that amounted to 1,500 people.

"If they have an elevated blood sugar level, they come to us automatically to be evaluated," says Dr. Aloi. "For many people, it's their new diagnosis of diabetes. Some people come see us annually for their routine diabetes care. We have a lot of Type 1 diabetes and we're the only physician they see."

Dr. Aloi first participated in the RAM clinic as a faculty member at the University of Virginia. With support from Jerry Nadler, MD, director of the EVMS Strelitz Diabetes Center, Dr. Aloi has continued his involvement since coming to EVMS. He hopes to include EVMS medical students and residents in future years.