[captioning made possiblby kcet public levision] >> good eving from los angele m tavis smiley. while americans debate the future of health re in this couny, one man continues to put matters intois own hands. ston brock is th founder of a free mobile health care clinic knowns remote area mical. initially designed to provide free care third world countries,tan brock now concentratesn those in need here in the u. at a recent stop hearingn los angeles, tusands lined up r urs just for the chance to see a doctor. also tonight, fmer "gilmore gis" star alexi bledel is here. she starin a new comedy about life after college calledpost grad." the movie opened in taters around the count elier today. we're gl you've joineds. remote area medicaounder stan brock and actress alexis bledel cupping up right now.

>> there areo many things that walart is looking foard to doing. like helpi people live better. but mostly, we're looking foard to helping build stipbeheouofthlpr be, e onca becausof your help, the best is yet to come. >> nionwide insurance prouy supports "tavis smiley tavis andationwide insuran, woing to improve financial literacy and the ecomic powerment that comes with it. >> nationwide is on your side. >> and by contribions to your pbs station from viewe like you. thank you. tavis: in 1985, stanrock founded remote aa medical

known as ram, nonprofit organizati designed to provide fr health care to third world countries. in 1992 he decided to turn his attention to peoe in need here in the u.s. partularly those livg in rul areas. recently r.a.m. set up shop here in los aeles. itsirst ever stop in a major urban area and the turnout was staggering. stan brock, i'm honored to he you on the program >> thank you vermuch. tavis: let me start by asking the obvious, how didou find your way to los angeles why l.a.? >> well, we've actuay done 566 of these operations befor we came to l.a. and we only go wheree're invit and so an invitationame frosome folks in los angeles, mr. jer moss, as a matter of fac who said, you ow, i saw the piece on "60 minute and we need the help out here, would you consider bringing the team? so we pu it on the schedule and we're privileged to here

and offer some help. tavis: so yowere in glewood, for those whoere sports fans, they re set up in the parkingot of what's knowas the farm where the lakers used to play when mag d -- -- magic and worthy d cooper wer winning those champiships at the farm. so you set up at the farm in inlwood outside of l.a. a what happenedhen theoor, so to speak,pened up? >> well, wepent the whole day lafe monday setting up all the equipment,00 dental chairs and 20 lanes of eye exam equipment and facities for general medical treatment and our mobile vehicles for ming eglasses on the spot and that night we handedut 1,500 numbers. d of course there were mo than 1,500 people there. we spped the count a 500 and then at 5:30n the morning on tueay morning, we started calling out numbers and inging them in. tavis: and when al was said and don you saw ove 8,000 people in, what, t or three

days? >> actually, we saw over 8,000 patit encounters. that means that many of the people who came in that got to see the dentistnd got tir teeth fixed and then they went to see ather doctor and they t their eyes fixed and we ma them a pair of glasses. we've alreadyade over 100 payers of glasses -- payers o -- payers of glasses and pulled a few bad teeth o as well. someing like 260 women ae lined upor mmograms. so there a lot of good been done over tre. we've had some wondeul volunteers from the state of califoia, but unfortunately the laws in the united states are very restrictive from state to state and we we not allowed to bring in volunteer physicians and dtists from other stes and actually that's the greatest impediment that we face awhere in the united states to providing free

care is that docto are not allowed to cross state les, exceptn one state, tennessee, where in 199they chang the law and so now we get lifornia practitioners coming all the way to tennessee at their own expense to provide free health care. tavis: how muchigger do you think what happened in l. would ve been if you could have had me volunteer doctors and others to staff it, which means u could have seen me people? >> oh, without a dou we would have seen twice e number. i mean, let's not undertimate the value of those thousands of people that ha had their care. i'm absolutelyelighted. i wi we could have seen more and had the la been flexible enougho allow us to bring in extra help we would he filled every dental chair and every eye lane and we would have seen probably twi as many people. vis: you have saithat it was not your inten nors it your motive toet calle --

caht up in the health re debate. you're not trying to maka political statentere. you're trying to serve peoe in need, whi i totally get. but what does it say to you though about thetate or lack theof of health care in this country when you set up shop and by the thousands folks show up for fre care? >> well, you know, a long time o during the height of wod war ii, 1944, the british government, whh was a bipartisan govnment in those days at the heightf thear, and the were 49.7 million britains othe island of which there was a big problem with the lac of health ca during that terrible time. and so the bipartin governnt said, we're gng to have universalealth care in this country and mr. ben, the ministerf health, was ordered to make it happen. fast forward now, 66 years, and you've probably got abt the same numr of people ase had in britain at the height of the

war, another 47 million, 49 million pple, and they don't have access to health care, they simply c't afford it. the bi question, tavis, is whether or not the governmen is able to ce to an aeement th with all t various terests and groups, unlike britaiwhere it was a birtisan government during the war, and do sometng for th 47 million, 49 million people that need e help. tavis: how dyou personally process, stan brock, starting r.a.m., starting this project, to see peoplin under- or undeveped, trd world, parts of t word and you start servi pple in the united states? >>es, and if you take a photogra of what we do a many people have and put i in a magazine in blacknd white, u really can't tell the difference tween what we're doing here in the unid states

wiout reading the cy than what we'reoing in a pla like guatemala. i just wish that we could coentrate all of our efforts on place lik zimbabw and haitand the other pces that we have traditionall gone to. but we've had to cut backn those oveeas programs beuse, you know, we live re, this is our home, and even though i'm british by birth and still carry a british passport, m proud to live in th country and we have to take care the home front first -- first. tas: as you have traved around the world, i don't mean to make you politica but i'm curious as to your point of view, there's been such a gat debate abouthat we don't have access to health carewi in this country and all kinds of coarisons in this debate in otherountries. there a particula system that you've seen that you think works best for delering health care? >> well, none of them e perfect. i an, at the momenthe tional health service in

england ha some problems in their dentistry and in fact we've d some invitations to go to britain to hp outith the denta issue and we would aler love to do that. there are plentyf volunteers here who would be delighted to go ov and help with that. we know ho to run the system and see house of people in a ort -- thousands of people i short space of time. bu again as we cannot cross state les here in the united states, also we're n aowed toake these fe american and canadian dentists or to gland. if we can rt of resolve this iss that keeps cominup about these highly qualified doctors and dentaltivities and so forth a allowhem -- dentists it's an so forth and allow them the flexibility of going to different plas, it would be to the nefit of millions of people at they're finding it hard to keep up with their health re programs. tavis: let me rewind to e beginning of r.a.m. this

wonderful project. how did this idea com to ? te me about the origins of this, hoit all started. >> it has itsoots in the amazonasin. i was asked that question about five wks ago, having breakfast with theixth man to walk on e moon, ed mitchel he askedhe same queion. and iaid, with well, i was a young cowboy on the northern border of brazil and i got badly iured by a wild horse and i'm lying thunderstorm wild horse kicking a thrashing about and and others came running overnd pulled me out from uerneath and said, wel the nearestoctor is 26 days on footrom here. by that time i got the inspirion for bringing the doctors a little bit closer t when i saihat, the astront, ed mitchell, said, gosh, i was on the moon and i was only three days from the nearest ctor. and i said, well, you know, for

thpeople that we're expecting see in los angeles a those thsands that we've seen in the past, you know, if it wasn't for these wonrful volunteershat are donating their services, they might as well be the moon or in the northern amazon basin. because they simply don't he access to the care they need. tavis: do you keep and if not, it by degn to not keepny data onhe people that you see? do you have any ki of demogrhic data on who you're seeing? race, color, ethnic origin, by age any data at all? >> you know,e keep a medical record that we compile on all of the peoplthat we see. just becse it's good medicine. we tryo provide the same stdard of care that youould get if y were in somebody' office. wh we don't do and what the public reay like ishat to qualify f one of our svices all you have to do is show u we don'tsk any questns about, you know, where are you from? are you illegal or legal or do

u have a job or not a job? it's fst come, first serve. and the plic really like that. but, ocourse, the wait is very, ry long. but it's self-gulating. in other words, if you cld avoid -- affordhe service, yo probably would not be waitinghere in line to get it free. tavis: i'murious to the extent you're ing to share with me, tell m about your life. the story of the horses is a scinating story and i understandow you got into this but who is stan brock? who areou, what -- beyond r.a.m., what's your fe like? what dyou do every day? >> well, this is all i do. 365 dsa year. we're cducting operatis. in in this all volunteer force. i can identify with the people that we' trying to help becausi've been homeless and i've been penniless and still

penness actually and so we have to help pple overcom the disvantages that many us are dealt. so that's rlly the whole philosophy of the 42,000 odd volueers that we've had in the field and the od folks that we have over ere at the rum this week in losngeles. after th've had the treatment,he patients come up to the doctor and theyug the doctor, even though they may have a mouth full of gauze because they've ha all their bad teh taken out. th're so grateful and it's st wonderful working with them. vis: i've read to the exten you're comrtable conrming this that u live a pretty meager, pretty sple life. >> wl, of course, you know i lived with t indians forll those years in t amazo and so i, you know, i i have to miss a coue of meals for day or two, it's no hardship becae that's the way iwas.

so the simple le and throw a mat on the floor andherever are you -- you are it's just thway things are whenou have that kind of an upbringing. tavis: what does stan bck get fothis love and service to humanity? what do you get out of it? >>ell, wha i get outf i tas, is that every time weo one of the and we've de 567, you can't wk out of the premises, wherever we' holding it, wther it's under a tent orn a canoe somewhere, without people coming up and saying, gosh, i'm glad y ca, whether they're speaki english some foreign languagegosh, i'm glad you cameecause i reallyeeded this. and it made a big difference for me and that's wondeul. the dowide, of course,s that we can't see everybody and

so on the last dayfhese things tre will always be those people tha come up to you the end and, you c ju do one more? you can't d erybo. a so that's the sad par of the whole thing. tavi it's a fascinating life, stan bck -- life st brock lives. i askedbout his service and loveo everyday people. the pth of your love r everyday people and e quality of youservice t them. the dth o his love a quality of his services is quitevident in this r.a.m. project that we've bn seeing al across the country that has taken place here in l. with thousands people being seen and helpedor their medical concerns. stan brock, an honor to meet you. i'm dighted to have you on this progr. >> thank you f the privilege. tavis: thank youor the opportuny. up next, former "gilmore girls" star, alexis bledel. stay wh us.

alexis bledel is a actress that starr for years on "gilmore gir." her new projecis a new film called "post gra" here now seenrompost grad" here now a sne from "post grad >> bt buckles. they're going crazy on t internet. who do you think met a distributor who's ing to start his own comny? >> b, dadwhat about the luggage shack? they just de you regional manager. >>ou have to think big picture here. you got to have vision. yogot to see that -- and since no of this other crap is working out for y, more than likely you' going to need a vice president. p. you go out there and drum up some biness. let's go o there and put some ckles on belts. what do you say? tavis: gd to have you here. when i first saw the project,

of coue the scene we saw a moment a was with you and michael keaton but whaa line, carroll burnett >> and dan lynch. michael keaton. they all play my very eccentric mily. character has to move back home when she'not getting a joand they're each so perfect for the roles and for the little i had yo sinksies that are supposed to come out. theye great. tavi what kind of crge do you get my word not yours, whatind of charge does one get wheyou get a chae to work -- keaton'seen around for a longime. we know him fr "batman," carroll burne is a legend, no doubt out that. at does an aor get whenne gets to playpposite that kind of ct? the >> get really excited. i want to learn what i can from them. but mostly i just feel lucky to get to share t screen with them andring some characters to lifand it's just great.

it's such f. because th've -- hee like watchingichael keaton work, he's been doing i so lon and he's so lovel to everyone onset. thers so much to learn. i love it. tavis: but never intimidation, though? >> iean, sometimes, you know, i knewarroll burnett from the musical "annie." i grew up watching that and e's the very scary to a child, ms. hannigan. the character she plays. she's terrifying. and she's just so brilliant in e role because she's hilarious, s's -- her character is complely drunk the whole time. and she's sinng and -- but she's also terrifying. just really a terrifying personity. so when i m her, she's the sweetest lad i think i was a little maybe intidated more from the character i think. tavis: there's pretty interesting learningurve for your character. >> yes. tavi gaining herself in ft.

i'll letou explain te character. >> sheasically starts out very, you kno planned out everything in her le. you know,t's planned, she knows how sh wants it to go, she knows where she wants to work, where she wants to be in 10 years, i wouldn't be surprid. so she starts out on her joney, graduating from college, and basical nothing, noing goes as planned. so sheasically justits rock bottom am d has to learn how to build herself back up with an open mind and lea how to entertain dierent possibilities for herself and think outside theox. tavis: parallels to yr life or no pallel at all terms of planning this out, wanting this to go a certn way. are you that methodical? >> not at all. i don't really plan much. i' plan my day a littlbit so i don't fget to do tngs

but i reall-- i go wh the flow, completely. i sort of stumbled into acting, kind of -- when ias going to school in new york and inew i s interested in film. i was inilm school, but that was kind of an after thought. it allind of just came to me. i really believe i just foowing what you instinctivy feel and then just working hard onceou're, you know, in aosition that feels right. tavis: y say you stumbled into acting. for you that meahat? i ask tt of you because i always fd it fny and curious at the same time when people who end up ing rlly good at their craftsay i just stumbl into this. i hate people le you. stuff just kinof happens and they end up being good at it. >> i had sor of meled in new york sincehe age of 14 a when i went to.y.u. i h an agent that w starting to set me out on adues i -- auditions, they wereending

all the girls out so i was in film school d heard from one of thether girls th she was taking an acng class whe a film student was allowed to sort of film the classes, like do the camerawork, and the the acting students cou watch their scenes back. so i did tha i signed up to work t camera a i just foun myself watching their scenes and gettingy own ideas about how i woul maybe do the scenes in my o waynd so then whei wld go tse addition -- auditions, got to y out my ideas and that'sow it happened. tavis: so your friend hates you w. >> no, she's very sweet. she's great,ctually. tavis: you inve your friend to css to film you and she endsp being on the gilmore girlsed. you look back on those "gilmor girls" days now d think wt? retrospect is >> so much of it is a blur. the first couple of years a just such a br because i was learning smuch and we just

d to memorize so many wor that that wasostly what was going on in my head for many, many years, those lines. but i see i so different now. at the time i felt like, i was so busy i just didn'tnow what to think and now i just appriate it so ch because it was, i mean is rare tha a show goes on for so long and at it's beloved b is my ople. so i just feelo blessed a this poi. tavi blessed is oneide which is a beautifhing, to feel blessed with a project, the flipside to tt in this business is being type cas i get the sense are youeing lowed to move beyond that. yo don't feel burdened byhat past? how long it r? it's fun, because it was so long i sometimes will fall to bad habits and i t very hard to brea or --nto an old comfortable way readin

lines that feels le that character. so it's a conscus efforto try to change that. and i think it takes aot of time forn yudyens to see an actor differently than a t character that they ve. so'm sure it will just take time b i try to definitely look for different sorts o les just for my own education. tavis: there is a certain level discipline that one has to have to be auccessful model. en though you were doing it as aoung person, werthere things you took from tt par of your career, that work for yo that wa transferble to the acting? >> yes, the is a certain amount of focus that you have have to get goodhots and to sort of maiain yourself, keep yoursel healthy, even though you'r supposed to be quite thin. and while there were negive things i heard ding that time when was 16 and they would say, my age or someone would tell me th i neede to lose weight or something, i just kind of blocked out anything gative that i would hear and would fus on the positives.

the fact that i was working, i couldn't work more becse i was in high school as well. so i think that was actuay a good skill to develop, to sort oflock out the native to a certn extent and just hear it, but then kd of move forward without i tavis: and fally, i'm fascated by -- ev though it's not le you spent years doing this,ut i'm fascinated by what you lrned filming other peoe in the acting class before you got into it yourlf. was it thereomething you gained from being onhe other side oe camera beforeou got on the fnt side of it? >> i think so. i only did it a couple times but i think i sort of noticed en somebody was very awa of what they wereoing on camera. and i kind of aays appreciated when person would get aittle bit lost in the scene and forget themselve so i think tt's what stuck with with me the most. tavis: "postrad" is theew

film starring alexis bledel, formerly of th "gilmore girls." nice thave you on. all e best on the project >> thank you so ch. tavis: my please. th's our show for tight. catcme on public radio international. youan access it on our podr our website thanks for watching as always, keep theigit -- faith. ñ >> f more information on today' show, visit "tavis smey" at pbs.org. >> hi,'m tavis smiley. join me nextime for a conversation with oscarinning thrill mer quion tarantino. that's next time. see you then. >> there's so ny things that wal-mart is looking forrd to doing. li helping peopleive better. but mostl we're looking forward to helping build stroer communities and y

helpca buse with you help the best iset to come. >> natioide insurance proudly supports "tavis smiley." vis and nationwide insurance, working to improve fincial literacy and the economic emwerment that comes with ♪ natioide is on youride ♪ >> and by conibutions to your pbs station from views like you. pbs station from views like you. thanyou. >>