Jan Trumpeter, DVM - AAHA
It is again time to put down my thoughts to update you on the activities of your board of directors. Our last meeting was held at the ThinkWORKS meeting in March in conjunction with the AAHA yearly conference in Denver, CO. There were many activities going on at that time at both meetings and coincided with St. Patrick’s Day. Click here to read more.
ASVMAE members gathered in Denver March 16-18 for the annual ThinkWORKS program, designed to probe current and emerging veterinary issues. This year’s topic, “What is the Future of the Companion Animal General Practice?”, explored the future demand for pet healthcare, changes in the model of delivering veterinary services, the affects of specialization, specialty hospitals, and unlicensed practitioners, the socio-economic segmentation of pet owners, the role of humane societies, and providing healthcare for pets of economically disadvantaged owners. Read more...
 Plans are underway for the ASVMAE meetings held in conjunction with the AVMA Convention in San Diego. The CE program on Saturday, August 4 will feature Jessica Lee, CVPM from Brakke Consulting. She will be presenting on the current state of affairs in veterinary medicine using the most up-to-date industry data via an historical approach that emphasizes exactly how and why we are where we are today. This program is centered around data from the 2011 Bayer Study with supportive data from many other industry studies and reports. This interactive program will also include small group exercises to think outside the box for programs and protocols that would help practices achieve growth.
The ASVMAE Award Luncheon will be held on Friday, August 3 at 12:30 pm. Nominations are currently being accepted for the Executive of the Year Award and the Best in Business Award. Click here to nominate a fellow college for their exception leadership or here for information on submitting your successful project or program. The deadline for nominations is Friday, June 8. ASVMAE will also plan a group activity for the afternoon on Friday. The registration brochure will be sent out soon.
 Quite a few things are happening with the Partnership since we gave our last report. The Partnership is currently involved in developing tools for practices to use that are designed to assist them in increasing their skills in several areas, all of which should help to increase client visits and the health of their patients. We are also completing plans to implement a nationwide awareness campaign to the veterinary profession that will commence in April 2012. Preliminary plans for the direct to consumer campaign that will occur in 2013 are underway as well. Click here to read more.
 The Pet Nutrition Alliance is continuing to grow and develop as an organization. It not only has seven national and international organizations as members, but it now has three major pet food manufacturers as educational supporters to further its mission to promote the importance of nutrition as an integral and essential component of providing optimal health care for healthy, injured and sick pets. They are Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Nestle Purina PetCare, and P&G PetCare. They will be working with the Alliance over the next several years to assist with the development of tools for the profession and for pet owners. Read more...
As your representative to the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee, (AWC) I attended the spring discussion that was held in Schaumburg, IL. This was my final meeting with the AWC. Jack Advent will assume the position at the conclusion of the AVMA Convention in San Diego. Following are some of the key issues that we addressed: Read more...
Glenn Kolb
ASVMAE’s representative to the Animal Welfare Committee
Are your members seeing an increase in unauthorized and illegal practice by unlicensed individuals? The AVMA developed a form that allows veterinarians to provide AVMA with reports of incidents of unauthorized practice that may be harmful to animals (e.g. area such as alternative therapies, teeth floating, reproductive management). Click here to download the form from the AVMA website. After filing it out, the form can be emailed to the AVMA State Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Department. Instructions are included in the form itself.
The information collected will be used solely to provide quantitative data to legislative and regulatory bodies that such practices are occurring and that animals are being harmed as a result. Because the AVMA cannot use this information to file actual complaints, the form encourages reporting veterinarians who witness a violation of law to report the incident to the appropriate authorities in their state.
Please let veterinarians in your associations know about the availability of this important advocacy tool. Thank you.
Adrian Hochstadt, JD, CAE
Assistant Director, State Legislative and Regulatory Affairs
American Veterinary Medical Association
 The first few months of the new year brought several significant new laws.
In New Jersey, AB 1633 was signed into law. The new law allows a court, in matters of domestic violence, to include provisions related to care and custody of a pet owned by any party involved in the domestic violence charge.
Nebraska became the second state, after Missouri, to enact legislation (LB 459) prohibiting local governments from defining legal status of animals in a way not consistent with personal property.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad signed into law HF 589, making the state the first to criminalize a person willfully obtaining access to an animal facility or crop operation by false pretenses.
Arizona HB 2605 exempts from dog bite laws a dog that is used by law enforcement agencies that bites any person if the bite occurs while the dog is under proper law enforcement supervision and the care of a licensed veterinarian.
Kansas SB 289 makes several revisions to veterinary practice act.
Click here for more details on these laws and to read the full article.
Claire Holley - North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association
Claire Holley has been the Executive Director of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association since August 2008. We asked Claire to share some of her thoughts with ASVMAE members on several topics. Click here to read more. |
