One out of four households in the U.S. has experienced trouble accessing veterinary care, according to a 2018 report by the Access to Veterinary Care Coalition. Colorado State University’s Animal-Human Policy Center surveyed Colorado veterinary professionals to understand their perceptions of access-to-care and workforce challenges and potential solutions.
For more than 50 years, Elizabeth “Betty” Koster and Dr. Merrill Koster have been dedicated to making an impact in both human and veterinary medicine.
“We want to know the entire history of the horse, but it’s important to get your hands on the horse with a physical examination. We’re not there to persuade the buyer one way or the other. We’re presenting facts.” -Dr. Luke Bass
“One of the motivators is to create this enhanced space for research, education and service — service including being a hospital and serving our veterinary patients and their families — and how we really essentially leverage all of those together to advance what we do in veterinary medicine to continually get better,” said Dr. Kelly Hall-Wilke, associate professor of emergency and critical care and chair of the VHEC project planning team.
“The BluePearl specialists bring a diversity of clinical experience and knowledge which will be invaluable to our entire team—students, staff, house officers, and faculty members. The veterinary industry is changing rapidly, and we must adjust to those changes to make the veterinary teaching hospital model sustainable. This program is a prime example of such innovation,” said Sheila McMullan, senior associate dean, Colorado State University Veterinary Health System.
The program will initially launch in partnership with Colorado State University, where BluePearl Ophthalmologist, Trevor Arnold, DVM, MS, DACVO, will join CSU’s Veterinary Health System, while also maintaining his role as a clinician with BluePearl.
Getting a precise handle on volumes is important because it helps farmers establish a baseline from which to work, said Sara Place, an associate professor and feedlot systems specialist at Colorado State University’s AgNext program, a research partnership between the university and agribusinesses.
In Brazil, where armadillos are considered a delicacy, doctors have linked cases of leprosy to people eating the animal and hypothesized that they could have transmitted the disease to family members living in close quarters, said John Spencer, an associate professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and pathology at Colorado State University.
The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VELRP), first created in 2017, will now pay up to $90,000 over four years to help licensed veterinarians in Colorado pay off their student debt as they work in underserved areas of the state.
With more than 600 students across the 4 years of the DVM program, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at CSU remains dedicated to focusing on excellence in advanced veterinary medicine, community connection, and awareness of the intersection of the profession with larger societal challenges, write Drs. Claire Tucker and Sue VandeWoude in the September issue.