Worship of God Through Service to Mankind

Dr. Jameiko J. Harvey

I was born in the beautiful Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI), a British Overseas Territory located in the North Atlantic Ocean, some 575 miles southeast of Miami, Florida, and 90 miles north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. TCI is an archipelago of 40 islands and Cays, only eight of which are inhabited. The TCI forms part of the southern extremity of the Bahamas chain. The total landmass is estimated at some 238 square miles. The TCI has as its slogan “Beautiful By Nature,” as it is home to the world’s number one beach. Of the 40 islands and Cays, I am lucky enough to call the Island of South Caicos (The BIG South) my birth island.

My father, Royalton Harvey, is a retired accountant by profession, and my mother, Youthful Forbes, worked in the hospitality industry. I am the fourth of my mother’s nine children. It was a common tradition for the children to be raised by their grandparents while their parents went to work, so my three older siblings and I spent most of our early childhood living on the island of North Caicos with our grandparents, Thomas and Josepha McIntosh. We grew up in a small neighborhood called Pepper Town; a town that has produced many political and professional leaders of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

I attended Adelaide Omler Primary School until the age of twelve. Throughout my primary school education, I was known to be a well-rounded student as I was always in the top five in my class in academia and was also a gifted athlete. I graduated from primary school in 1996 and was in the top three in my graduating class. I went on to attend the Raymond Gardiner High School, also in Bottle Creek, North Caicos. It was in high school that I really discovered my true potential after being guided by some great teachers. The most influential of them all was my third- form science teacher, Mrs. Allam.

Mrs. Allam was the one who suggested that I become a dentist. I’m not sure if she knows it, but once she mentioned it to me, I never had any other profession in mind. Being a science major in high school, it was difficult to balance my athletic schedule, but it was something I did for five years. As I matriculated through high school, I became the top-performing student in academia and also the top athlete.

In the fourth form, I was named captain of my sports club which was Seymour House. I went on to lead them to backto-back victories; the first victory for Seymour in the school’s history. During one of the sports club meets, I entered the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, high jump, long jump, shot-putt, discus throw, javelin, the 4x100meter, and the 4x400 meter race and won gold medals in all events; an accomplishment that to this day has never been matched. I graduated from high school in 2001 as a Salutatorian and was also awarded Athlete of the year. By this time, my grandmother, whom I had lived with until the age of twelve, had gotten sick and was no longer able to care for me and my siblings. It was at this time that my two brothers and I started living with our mother’s sister, Rosethal Eyvette McIntosh.

Rosethal had three boys of her own who were all older than me and my siblings. It was a difficult task for her to care for three boys as a single mother and working a full-time job. When she was asked to care for three more boys she didn’t hesitate. I was the youngest of the six boys being raised by my aunt, which was good and bad; good in a sense where I benefitted from being protected by older brothers, bad because I had to do most of the household chores.

After graduating high school, I worked as a bank teller at one of the local banks; a job I enjoyed very much as a young adult, but I knew I had to follow my dream of becoming a dentist. In the Spring of 2002, I enrolled at The Turks and Caicos Islands Community College (TCICC) in Grand Turk, where I majored in General Studies. Moving to Grand Turk and enrolling in the Community college would prove to be one of the greatest decisions I would ever make. While attending, college in Grand Turk, I met my future wife, Shenika. But our story didn’t begin in Grand Turk as I knew my future wife from earlier years of competing in sports.

We both graduated from the community college and went on to attend Nova Southeastern University in South Florida. I majored in Biology, and Shenika majored in computer science, before also switching her major to Biology, which was not an easy thing to do. I graduated from Nova Southeastern in 2007 with a Bachelors in Biology and a minor in Psychology. Shenika, because of the change in majors, finished a year later.

After a vigorous process, I got accepted into Meharry Medical College, School of Dentistry in Nashville, Tennessee. Shenika would also attend Meharry Medical College a year later, enrolling in the Master’s of Public Health Program. It was the happiest time of my life; I was doing what I had set out to accomplish, and I was doing it alongside my future wife. As I matriculated through dental school, I became more comfortable and became one of the top-performing students. I would continue to accelerate when we began clinical rotations. It felt as if I was practicing dentistry all my life. In fact, I was so good at the clinical work that I completed it seven months before graduation and worked at the General Practice Residency program, and also as a teacher’s assistant for the latter part of my final year. I graduated from dental school on May 21, 2011, where I received a number of awards and finished with a number two (2) ranking in a class of fifty-two (52).

Eager to begin practicing dentistry, I bypassed any residency program and returned to the Turks and Caicos Islands shortly after graduation. As a returning student who had benefited from a full scholarship, I was obligated to work for the TCI government to repay my scholarship bond. After working for the government for one year as a dental officer, I was promoted to the post of Chief Dental Officer for the country. As this role was mostly administrative, I requested permission to open a private dental office so I could continue utilizing the skills that I had worked so hard to obtain.

My request was approved by the Deputy Governor, who is the head of the civil service of the Turks & Caicos Islands, and I opened my first office in June of 2012 and named it Paradise

Smiles. I am forever grateful to the Deputy Governor for understanding the need and my vision at the time to advance dentistry within the TCI. I would continue to work for the next eight years to pay off my bond whilst also growing my dental practice. During my time within the government/public sector, I was nominated to serve on The Turks and Caicos Islands Health Practitioners Board both as a member and as the Chairman. I was also elected as the Vice President of the Turks & Caicos Islands Medical & Dental Association, a position I still hold to this day.

Working for the government in an administrative capacity allowed me to introduce a number of programs that would prove to be very impactful to the future healthcare professionals of the TCI. One program in particular was the Turks and Caicos Islands Clinic Exploration Program, a program that provided an opportunity for professional mentoring to any student looking to pursue a career in the health profession. This program provided exposure and guidance to many students on the many different fields available within the health profession.

In 2015, Shenika and I got married, and already with a little girl, we added two more boys to our family. In 2019 I left the government sector and began working full time at Paradise Smiles. Shenika, who was also working with the TCI government, would leave a year later. Together, we now have a total of five dental practices throughout the Turks & Caicos Islands, employing a Maxillofacial Surgeon, two General Dentists, three Dental Therapists, a Lab Technician, and six supporting staff. It is my mission to continue to improve and advance the dental profession, especially within my home country, the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Dr. Harvey is a member of The American Dental Association (ADA) and served on The Turks and Caicos Islands Health Practitioners Board both as a former Member and as a former Chairman and is currently the Vice President of the Turks & Caicos Islands Medical & Dental Association. Since graduating from Dental school, Dr. Harvey worked for the Turks & Caicos Islands Government (TCIG) from 2011 to 2012 as a Dental Officer and from 2012 to November 2019 as The Chief Dental Officer for the Turks & Caicos Islands. Currently, Dr. Harvey, along with his wife, runs their private dental office, Paradise Smiles Ltd., of which they now have five locations throughout the country. In his spare time, Dr. Harvey mentors the next generation of healthcare professionals for the Turks & Caicos Islands through a Clinic Exploration Program that originally began through his vision and leadership.