Phase I: Dental Equipment
The Micronesia Dental Support Project (MDSP) began in 2005 simply as a way for Dr. Barry Staley, DDS a retired periodontist and his wife Stephanie a librarian from Cabrillo College to support the efforts of their daughter Desha Staley-Raatior and her Micronesian husband Vidalino Raatior who were volunteering at Xavier High School in Chuuk, Micronesia. Learning that their students were getting inadequate dental treatment at the only government-operated dental clinic in the entire Chuuk State due to lack of equipment and supplies, Dr. Staley began a campaign soliciting dental equipment from his national network of dentists. Based out their home, the Staleys filled a 20-foot container with over $400,000 worth of donated equipment and supplies which they shipped out on Matson Shipping Lines to Chuuk in December, 2005. They then traveled to Chuuk to help set up and train the local staff on the use of their equipment while Stephanie donated books to the library at Xavier High School.
During his time in Chuuk in 2005, Dr. Staley accompanied his son-in-law Vidalino Raatior to the outer island of Houk in the Northwest region of Chuuk State. On that trip they noticed that the change of diet from locally grown food to imported processed food items coupled with the inaccessibility of dental services and lack of community education has led to major teeth decay among the children in those outer islands. It was apparent that sending dental equipment alone to the dental clinic on the main island of Weno was not enough as the outer islanders could not access the clinic; they began to discuss the idea of bringing teams of volunteer dentists to provide quality dental services to the children.
Phase II: Operating Remote Clinics
Upon returning home to Santa Cruz, CA, Dr. Staley recruited Dr. Lindy Bixby, DDS (Capitola, CA), Dr. Cyrus Mozayan, DDS (Santa Cruz, CA), and Dr. Wesley Yemoto, DDS (San Jose, CA) to serve on the first MDSP Trip to Chuuk, Micronesia. They donated their time, expertise, supplies, and funds to travel with him and a support team to Chuuk in Micronesia for the inaugural MDSP Team 2008.
MDSP Team 2008: In the summer of 2008, MDSP led the first MDSP Team to Chuuk, Micronesia to set up and operate remote dental clinics for the outer islanders on Houk and on the main island of Weno. MDSP Team 2008 consisted of 4 dentists, the Support Team of the local liaison, project manager, and a technician. MDSP partnered with Xavier High School’s community service project to mentor seniors to accompany the team as translators, general assistants, and patient care specialists. The Chuuk State Department of Public Health assigned two dental assistants to also accompany the team during the week. The MDSP Clinics were set up at the Chuuk State Public Health Department, College of Micronesia – Chuuk Campus, Sapeta Community Center, Xavier High School, and at the Pollap Community Center in Iras. In a span of five clinic days, the team serviced over 400 patients. They were treated to a farewell reception by the Blue Lagoon Resort with traditional performances provided by the youth from the outer island of Pollap.
Phase III: Capacity-Building for Sustainable, Locally-led Services
MDSP Team 2012: Using lessons learned from the successful service trip in 2008, MDSP has recruited another team of volunteer dentists and an experienced Support Team to travel to Chuuk State in June 2012 to operate the same level of quality services for the outer island communities focusing this time on the outer islands in Namonweito by way of Onoun. The itinerary for the new team will follow the basic outline of the previous trip, i.e. travel to the outer islands, set up remote clinics and provide free services to the children first followed by mothers and other adults.
Capacity-Building for Sustainable Services: MDSP will expand its role in Chuuk State from dental care provider to engaging in capacity-building efforts for the outer islanders. Following the week-long clinics, MDSP Local Liaison Vidalino Raatior and a team of local leaders will travel by boat throughout the outer islands in Chuuk State to meet with the people to build grassroots support for a non-governmental organization called Fanapi Foundation which would address the long-term solutions to healthcare, educational opportunities, advocacy, and economic development for those islands.
