Volunteers sought for U.S. Navy Pacific humanitarian missions

San Diego鈥擳he Pacific Partnership 2010, which currently includes the USNS Mercy hospital ship, is seeking dental and other health care volunteers to join its humanitarian effort to Southeast Asia this summer to help out in Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Timor-Leste, and assist with getting volunteers to Papua New Guinea with rest stops in Singapore and Darwin, Australia.

“We are looking for dentists, specialists, hygienists, assistants and translators to help in these missions,” said Dr. Irvin B. Silverstein, University of California San Diego Pre-Dental Society dental director/advisor. The Pre-Dental Society is a civilian partner for the Navy’s Pacific Partnership effort and has been asked by the Navy to recruit volunteers.

“We are also seeking medical, pharmacy, nursing, veterinary and other health professionals,” he said. “We can take pre-professional students and students in these professional fields if they have the proper credentials. The ship will be leaving the United States in May and return in September. Volunteers do not have to stay for the entire mission. There are points where they can come on and off the ship.”

The UCSD Pre-Dental Society has been involved in five humanitarian missions with the Navy. “Two of our volunteers have helped in Haiti disaster relief. Last year, our organization placed 115 civilian volunteers in the medical, dental, pharmacy and other health-related fields to work side by side with individuals from host nations and our armed forces. We had both students and professionals. One reason for this cooperation is to help plan for disasters, such as we have seen in Haiti, and the responses that are needed for them,” Dr. Silverstein said.

The humanitarian missions provide both health care services and infrastructure support.

Dr. Silverstein said the Navy had asked the group to step up its volunteer support for the Pacific mission, as so many U.S. resources are currently in place in Haiti.

Translators are needed for the following languages: Vietnamese, Indonesian, Indonesian/Tetum. “People who have these skills but are not in the medical or health fields may also be accepted,” he said.

The USNS Comfort is currently in Haiti providing relief, but dental volunteer recruitment is still on hold until more critical care has been delivered, he added.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the Pacific mission should send his or her name, profession (if student, name of institution) and contact information to Dr. Silverstein at dsilverstein22@cox.net.

The main cost of the trip is for the volunteer’s transportation to and from the ship. Currently the mission is scheduled for the USNS Mercy Hospital Ship, but other Navy vessels are utilized for these missions. Information about last year’s partnership is posted at www.navy.mil/Search/display.asp?story_id=48454. The Navy notes that dentists (including the Pre-Dental Society volunteers) saw 4,487 patients during the 2009 mission. To learn about other international volunteer opportunities, go to http://internationalvolunteer.ada.org or call Ext. 2726.