OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON                                               WASHINGTON  D.C.

     In January of 2010, 2011 and 2012 Dr. Heyamoto went to Olympia, WA to talk to Senators and Representatives about dental relative issues.  Preserving patient choice of providers and governmental support of Medicaid were part of his agenda.

     In February of 2010 and 2011, Dr. Heyamoto traveled to Chicago as part of a special taskforce comprised of eight ADA/AGD (Four American Dental Association Trustees/Four Academy of General Dentistry Trustees).  Topics are under closed session, but the the effort is to unite and continue both organizations working closely together to protect the excellent U.S.dental healthcare sytem

          In April of 2010, Dr. Heyamoto headed to Washington D.C. to talk to Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.  Representatives Jay Inslee and Alan Smith offices were also visited.  All four were informed of dentistry's support of H.R. 5000 (Dental Coverage Value and Transparency Act), H.R. 3763 (Red Flags Act) and H.R. 4626 (McCarran-Ferguson Act).

In May of 2010, Dr. Heyamoto found himself in Chicago again, this time as AGD Trustee of Region XI, where he continues to work on behalf of organized dentistry to preserve the scope of practice for general dentists.  On the left, he poses with Trustees from Texas and Kansas.

In July 2010, Dr.Heyamoto served as Trustee of Region XI (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington) in New Orleans at the Academy of General Dentistry's annual meeting.  In 2011, he did the same in San Diego.

In August, Detroit was the venue for the Board of Trustee meeting of the Academy of General Dentistry.  A visit to the Detroit Institute of Art was a highlight for Dr. Heyamoto.  Here he is pictured alongside an original Van Gogh self portrait.  In 2011, the B.O.T. meeting was held in San Destin, Florida. 

Dr. Heyamoto completed his year (2009-2010) as Chairman of the Budget/Finance Committee of the Washington State Dental Association by delivering the financial report to the House of Delegates in September.  He then ran for and was elected to a three year term as a member of WSDA Board of Directors.

In September, the Washington State Dental Association held their District XI Caucus at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane.  Discussions included preparations for the ADA House of Delegates meeting in Orlando.  For 2011, Dr. Heyamoto attended the Caucus held at Cedarbrook Lodge in preparation for Las Vegas in October.

In October 2010, the ADA met in Orlando.  Dr. Heyamoto was a part of the ADA's District 11 contingency which helped develop national policy and  guidelines for the ADA board of trustees. 

He again represented Wasshington State in 2011 when they meet in Las Vegas.

In 2011, Dr. Heyamoto again served on the Board of the Washington Academy of General Dentistry.  For at least the next two years, he will continue to chair WAGD's Continuing Dental Education Committee. 

Washington State Dental Association held a Dental Action Day in Olympia in January 2011.  Dr. Heyamoto met with two Senators and four Representatives to discuss opposition to HB1310 and the cutting of adult Medicaid.  HB1310 would create midlevel providers and through their efforrs, was defeated for 2011.  Almost certain, there will be a 2012 version.  Expansion and reinstatement of existing programs would be a better use of money,especially in these economic times.  The elderly, the blind and the frail in nursing homes are part of what Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation", yet our State decided to cut funding for their healthcare and dental care.  Instead, they want to create an entirely new program that will need state assistance to succeed. This cut also eliminates many of the patients seen at the dental school hurting the training needed for dental students.  In their wisdom, this cut hurt access to care and education, ironically both topics our State claims they champion.  Dr. Heyamoto brought this message to District 1 and 45's legislatures.

Dr. Heyamoto is the current     Academy of General Denstisry's   Region XI Trustee

(Serving Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington)

 Dr. Dr. Heyamoto was part of the American Dental Association's District 11 contingency which met in Orlando Florida (October 2010) and in Las Vegas (October 2011).