Meet Our Mid-Valley: How a Dallas man helped millions receive essential health care
This is part of a series introducing readers to individuals who are passionate about our Mid-Valley community.
Ron Post and his late wife were watching news coverage 45 years ago of Cambodian refugees arriving to Thailand after escaping the Khmer Rouge “Killing Fields,” the sites of some 2 million deaths from starvation, work exhaustion and execution.
Post remembers seeing the emaciated body of a teenage girl then looking over at his own teenage daughter and feeling heart-stricken. He felt called to do something.
“I believe God put it in my heart that I was to raise up a medical team, and I was to help them,” said Post.
Within two weeks, Post, a Dallas-based business owner with no medical background, had raised $250,000 and enlisted 28 volunteers who set off to Thailand to help at a refugee camp.
This was the beginning of Medical Teams International, which now serves about 3 million refugees at eight different camps. Medical Teams also has 13 mobile dental clinics that see about 25,000 people every year.
Post said he was amazed at the number of people who called him in those first two weeks wanting to donate and volunteer. Now 85, Post said he never imagined helping so many.
“We just took one thing at a time and let it grow,” said Post.
Post retired from Medical Teams day-to-day operations in 1997, but continues be a vocal supporter and promoter of the organization, which is based in Tigard. His story is an inspiration to staff, and learning about the organization's roots is an essential part of employee onboarding, said Joe DiCarlo, Medical Teams global ambassador.
Filling empty buckets
In the early 90s, Medical Teams traveled to Ethiopia to respond to a famine by operating an infant intensive feeding program. Every morning, mothers and babies would line up hoping there would be enough resources to provide them with care, Post said.
That trip is seared in his memory.
He was standing near the line of waiting mothers when two elderly woman with empty buckets walked up to him to get them filled with grain. Before Post could act, one of the women began trembling and collapsed, dying right in front of him.
He said he still remembers her outstretched arm on the ground holding the empty bucket.
“There are millions of empty buckets around the world,” said Post.
His work has been centered on trying fill them.
Medical Teams' mobile clinics offer free care in the Pacific Northwest
Post and his team started the mobile clinic in the 80s because they saw a need to provide essential care to those in Oregon and Washington.
“That gave me the greatest joy, seeing that happen,” said Post.
The first mobile dental clinic operated out of a converted motorhome, Post said. They now travel in large red busses that have the capacity for multiple patients.
One of the Medical Teams mobile clinics visited Redeemer Lutheran Church in Salem on Jan. 30 to provide emergency dental care, medical screenings and other services.
Free mobile clinics are held regularly throughout Oregon and Washington. Medical Teams serves anyone who comes to their clinics, regardless of insurance status. Clients often include seniors, veterans, people of color, farmworkers and those experiencing homelessness.
Licensed doctors, dentists and nurses volunteer their time with Medical Teams to provide care. Many of them volunteer for years, Post said.
Dental assistant Kathi Karnosh has been volunteering with Medical Teams for 24 years.
Over time, Medical Teams partnered with organizations to provide needed services to underserved communities in the Pacific Northwest.
In 2021, Medical Teams International and Kaiser Permanente provided mobile COVID-19 vaccination and testing clinics focused on serving rural communities.
Shortly after, Medical Teams' mobile clinic dentists identified a need for more than dental care. That was the beginning of Care & Connect.
Patients gets same-day care at the mobile clinic, then Care & Connect helps them find primary care, counseling and other resources.
The program aims to eliminate barriers to accessing care such as language, education, access to transportation and income. Sometimes it’s as simple as calling and setting up their next appointment. Other times, patients need a lot more help.
Some clinics are by-appointment only, while others are first come first serve. To find a clinic near you, visit https://www.medicalteams.org/how-we-heal/mobile-dental-program/emergency-dental-clinics/
Sydney Wyatt covers healthcare inequities in the Mid-Willamette Valley for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions, and tips to her at SWyatt@gannett.com, (503) 399-6613, or on Twitter @sydney_elise44
The Statesman Journal’s coverage of healthcare inequities is funded in part by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, which seeks to strengthen the cultural, social, educational, and spiritual base of the Pacific Northwest through capacity-building investments in the nonprofit sector.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Founder of Medical Teams International never imagined helping so many
