People of all ages, with all kinds of health needs, came to an Orange County convention center Friday as the Anaheim Free Health Fair kicked off for the ninth year Friday.
Doctors, dentists, opticians -- even chiropractors and yogis -- will treat thousands of people for free at the fair, which runs through Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Some prospective patients waited overnight to get a chance at free medical care, showing just how desperate some of them were for help.
“Oh, it’s very important, there’s a lot of people here that can’t afford it," said Vince White of Anaheim.
White was one of hundreds waiting for help Friday. He said free beats the cost he would have had to dish out for what he needs.
"I went to another dental place ... it was going to cost over $3,000," White said.
Some things are too expensive to handle for patients, which is why Remote Area Medical offers dental, vision, blood work -- all general medical needs, for free to the public.
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Doctor Nitin Shah started the Anaheim service nine years ago, before RAM joined in, to offer dental and vision care. He said that even with Covered California and the Affordable Care Act in place, the community is hurting for healing.
“It gets bigger and bigger and the need keeps on increasing and we keep on adding services,” Shah said.
Asher Klein contributed to this report.
