WISE, Va. – One might say the governor snuck in.
In his fifth year attending the Remote Area Medical clinic, Gov. Tim Kaine and first lady Anne Holton entered the Wise County Fairgrounds with no fanfare, volunteering for more than an hour Friday to register patients and help them find their way around.
In past years, Kaine has simply toured the event, to see what goes on and to thank the volunteers; this year he decided it was time to do more.
“I’m going to keep coming back,” Kaine said. “It’s just a really powerful event.”
He said this might be his most memorable experience at RAM, because he enjoyed volunteering but also because it comes at a point when the nation is debating its health care future – and what to do about the millions of people who lack health insurance.
“There’s no one piece of the solution you can wave a magic wand over,” Kaine said. “I do think we are in the birth pangs of the health care debate, but we’re doing something that has to be done.”
He said lawmakers can learn from RAM as well as from Virginia’s free clinics.
Holton, who said she enjoyed being “incognito” in the crowd, said she too would like to return and volunteer in the future – even when her husband is no longer the governor.
“It amazes me. It really is incredible, just the extent of volunteer effort and extent of need being served,” Holton said, in between directing patients.
“As you can tell, the experience is at least as rewarding for volunteers as those who are getting services.”
dmccown@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0701
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