Keelan Dental sending 7 on mission to Dominican Republic
Next month, a group of staff members from Keelan Dental in Butler is taking services far beyond the reaches of Western Pennsylvania.
Seven staff members, including head dentist Dr. Paul Keelan, are embarking on an eight-day mission to a rural part of the Dominican Republic as part of a partnership with World Mission Partners. While there, the seven will provide dental care for a group of Haitians who work in the sugar cane fields of the province of La Romana.
The Keelan volunteers will begin their voyage April 13.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic to be able to even have the opportunity to go on this trip with my team,” said Morgan Keelan, a hygienist and Paul Keelan’s daughter. “Just being able to provide needed care to those who need it most is really a gift in itself.”
This mission will fulfill a longtime ambition of the dentist, who has been seeking to embark on such a mission for years.
“We were introduced to World Mission Partners around eight years ago,” Morgan said. “Because of the pandemic, we weren’t really able to pursue going on a mission trip due to supply delays and travel issues.”
“There was an opportunity that arose last year to go this year, and it seemed like it was the right time,” said Mandy Saeler, marketing director at Keelan Dental. “I do know that it’s been a longtime desire for our team to serve in that way.”
Even before the Dominican Republic mission, Keelan Dental has sought to make a positive impact on the local community. Among other initiatives, Keelan has offered “free dental days” and took part in the Remote Area Medical program that was offered at Butler Intermediate High School last November.
“Dr. Keelan has expressed that one of the core values of Keelan Dental is giving,” Morgan said. “And so we're just always looking for opportunities to give back.”
The dentist is one of the seven staff members headed to the Dominican Republic next month. The other six are hygienists Morgan Keelan and Bethany Fox, treatment coordinator Sara Patterson, dental assistants Rylee Killmer and Kendall Christie, and Dr. Amy Governor.
While in the Dominican Republic, the seven staff members will be working out of what Morgan calls a “mobile dental unit” similar to an RV, which will be equipped with all of the supplies required for the dentists to perform their work.
“We will be seeing a lot of patients that are in extreme pain,” Morgan said. “Some will require fillings; some will require extractions. We'll be working on children; we'll be working on adults, kind of the whole nine yards.”
Of course, sending seven people to another country on an international flight isn’t cheap, and Keelan Dental is seeking donations from the public to help cover the cost of the trip, in the amount of $17,000 — about $2,429 per person. So far, Keelan Dental has raised about $8,000, mostly through selling raffle baskets at both the Butler and Valencia offices.
According to Saeler, numerous local businesses have contributed to Keelan’s efforts, including MovieScoop, Family Bowlaway, Miller’s Shoes, and the Speckled Hen.
“We also have a flip-flop drive going on right now, because that's one of the supplies that was requested from them,” Morgan said. “The communities that we're going to just don't have those resources.”
