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Thousands receive free healthcare in Manatee County

Posted at 10:24 PM, Nov 13, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-14 04:17:07-05

Elizabeth Kleeves drove ninety minutes for free care at Manatee County's Remote Area Medical Clinic.

"I don't have insurance right now," said Kleeves.

She's been having some dental issues that she hasn't been able to afford to fix.  She said the clinic was the perfect opportunity for her to get the care she needed.

"My teeth are bad, so I got some antibiotics done," said Kleeves.

She is one of two-thousand people who took advantage of getting the free care. Dr. Richard Conrad said the need for these types of clinics is large.

"We have about 350,000 people in this community, studies have shown about 41-percent need what we did this weekend," said Conrad.

He said the clinic ran out of appointment slots.

"This morning we turned away more than 300 people mainly because we didn't have enough dentists and enough eye specialists," said Conrad.

Conrad said he would like to offer this clinic at least once a month, but those plans still need to be finalized.

"If you can't get seen at this one stay tuned," said Conrad.