Bringing Free Patient Care to Those In Need

Community banks are known for supporting their communities, but $1.1 billion-asset Longview Capital Corporation (LCC) in Newman, Illinois, has taken this commitment to a new level by directly contributing to residents’ health. 

In June 2025, LCC, which is the holding company for Longview Bank, Longview Community Bank, Federated Bank and Middletown Bank, partnered with nonprofit organization Remote Area Medical (RAM) to open a pop-up health clinic in a nearby high school.

“This really put into perspective that we’re not just trying to make mortgages and have people’s bank accounts,” says Cam Pepper, LCC’s chief marketing officer. “Overall, we want to see our communities succeed.”

The idea originated when David Albin, chairman of LCC, watched a documentary about RAM. Albin asked Sean Mixson, an IT technician for LCC with a background in missionary pastoral work, to explore the feasibility of hosting a clinic in Illinois. 

After observing a RAM pop-up clinic in Kentucky, Mixson determined the effort could be replicated locally. “This is an area of my expertise, coming from a pastoral background and working with different organizations and getting service projects lined up,” Mixson says. “For the bank, this was the first time we’ve done something of this magnitude.”

Organizing a pop-up health clinic 

LCC formed a four-person committee to oversee the logistics of the event, with Mixson serving as chair. In addition to working closely with RAM, Mixson coordinated efforts with the Edgar County Health Department, secured support from healthcare provider Horizon Health and persuaded leaders at Paris High School in Paris, Illinois, to host the clinic.

Aaron Damler, executive vice president and manager of the community bank’s Paris branch, played a key role in recruiting volunteers. These included medical, dental and vision professionals, as well as non-healthcare volunteers who assisted with parking, registration and other essential tasks. 

Jaimee Hettinger, a mortgage loan processor at Longview, took charge of hospitality, ensuring that volunteers and participants were well cared for. In total, 196 volunteers participated in the event, Mixson says, including about three dozen LCC employees.

The Longview Foundation, a 501(c)(3) private foundation affiliated with LCC, covered the costs of lodging and meals for RAM personnel, as well as unexpected expenses, such as renting a generator when the one RAM brought broke down.

Community Outreach: Spreading the word

LCC’s outreach to patients and volunteers about the event was critical to its success. “We put flyers in places where a high level of the population would need our services, and we put them at the back of everybody’s churches,” Pepper says. 

He also advertised on online community calendars within a 90-mile radius, bought ad space in local newspapers and promoted the event on a digital billboard.

A major public relations win came from an appearance on WCIA, a TV station in Champaign, Illinois. 

“It was kind of like a local lifestyle show,” Pepper says. “And what’s beautiful was that they were running short on the program, so instead of an eight-minute segment, we had 18 minutes to talk about the event.”

The free community health clinic in action

The day before the clinic opened, RAM personnel and volunteers transformed Paris High School into a fully functional medical facility. They spread tarps on the floor and set up medical exam rooms, dental chairs, an optometry area and other specialized spaces, complete with sophisticated ventilation systems.

The doors opened at 6 a.m. on June 28. Over two days, the clinic provided a wide range of care, from treating ingrown toenails to conducting student-athlete physicals. Patients who needed glasses selected brand-new frames and received their custom lenses within a couple of hours.

“It was amazing to see a mom and a daughter sitting there trying on glasses, just excited that they were going to be able to see,” Pepper says. 

Dental care was another critical service. Among the patients were two people who needed all their teeth extracted, Pepper says. One of them commented that a commercial dentist had quoted $6,000 for the procedure, which the patient could not afford. 

Over the two days, 185 Illinois residents received dental, medical and vision care valued at $117,509, according to Mixson. To ensure ongoing care, the Longview Foundation pledged to cover follow-up treatments for these patients and several others with long-term needs, he adds.

RAM representatives praised the turnout, noting it was an impressive result for a first-time event. They also shared that future healthcare clinics are likely to draw even larger crowds.

“The effect that we saw made us feel like, ‘Yeah, we need to do this again,’” Pepper says. 

Encouraged by the success, LCC is already planning its next clinic, scheduled for June.

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