IVMA
Communiqué
"Serving veterinarians for the benefit of animal and human health."
April 7, 2020
Frequency Increase for the IVMA Communique
For the immediate future the IVMA will be sending out the Communique on a weekly basis to help keep our members up-to-date with the latest news on COVID 19. Look for the Communique in your inbox each Tuesday.

If you have questions or would like us to cover a topic, please email us at ivma@iowavma.org . We're here to help!
IVMA COVID-19 Survey - How Are You Doing?
The IVMA sent out a survey last week to collect data on how the COVID-19 crisis has affected our members. We received 183 responses- thank you to all who responded! Most of the responses indicated our members were continuing to see clients, but taking precautions to help keep their staff safe.

All the results from the survey can be viewed here.
IBVM Gives Guidance for establishing VCPR during COVID-19 Crisis  
In conjunction with Governor's Reynolds' March 17 Proclamation of Emergency Disaster, The Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine is suspending enforcement of the establishment of veterinarian/client/patient relationships (VCPR) by telephonic or electronic communication for companion animals. This allows for Iowa veterinarians to temporarily use telemedicine to see companion animals without a previously established VCPR. This enforcement suspension does not apply to livestock veterinary services.   Read the entire proclamation here. 

Please contact Dr. Jeff Kaisand at 515/281-0866 or Ginny Eason at 515/281-8617 with questions.
  IBVM Removes Online CE Credit Maximum due to  COVID-19 Crisis
The Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine is lifting the   20-hour limit on distance (online) education courses for continuing education credit for veterinarians for the current license renewal period, ending June 30, 2020. At this time, there is no extension on the June 30, 2020 license renewal deadline. The Board also lifted the 10-hour credit limit on online  continuing   education courses for veterinary technicians whose renewal deadline is December 31, 2020.    Read the entire proclamation here . 

Please contact Dr. Jeff Kaisand at 515/281-0866 or Ginny Eason at 515/281-8617 with questions.

Visit the IVMA website to view a list of online continuing education options . You must be logged in to view. Call the IVMA office if you need help with your login.
COVID-19 Small Business Resources
The IVMA has been working with the AVMA; our legal council, Carney and Appleby and our accounting firm, McGowen Hurst Clark Smith to help provide you with information regarding resources for small businesses during the COVID crisis.

AVMA press release:
 
AVMA blog posts:


Visit the IVMA COVID-19 resource page for additional information.
Confirmed Case of COVID-19 in NYC Zoo Tiger
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories has confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans) in one tiger at a zoo in New York. This is the first instance of a tiger being infected with COVID-19. Samples from this tiger were taken and tested after several lions and tigers at the zoo showed symptoms of respiratory illness.

Public health officials believe these large cats became sick after being exposed to a zoo employee who was actively shedding virus. The zoo has been closed to the public since mid-March, and the first tiger began showing signs of sickness on March 27. All of these large cats are expected to recover. There is no evidence that other animals in other areas of the zoo are showing symptoms .


Veterinary Medicine Essential Services
One of the most frequently asked questions the IVMA has received in the last couple of weeks is whether veterinary medicine is considered an essential business and what veterinary services are considered "essential".

Currently, it is the IVMA’s understanding that veterinary practices will be considered an essential business and allowed to stay open during the COVID crisis.  

During this crisis, veterinarians should use good medical judgement and not perform non-essential services to limit staff exposure to the virus.  Clinics may want to consider meeting clients at their cars instead of bringing animals into clinic waiting rooms to maintain appropriate social distancing.

A recommended list of essential services, according to the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians can be found on the IVMA website .

Continue to check our  website for updates.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the IVMA with any questions. 
Warm Weather Toxins - Free Webinar Today
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Pet Poison Helpline is presenting a free, RACE-approved webinar:

Warm Weather Toxins:
A Short Review of Timely Woes

Tuesday, April 7th
12:00 - 1:00 pm (Central)

Presented by:
Renee Schmid, DVM, DABT
Senior Consulting Veterinarian, Clinical Toxicology
Pet Poison Helpline


As the weather heats up, our pets can become exposed several warm weather toxins including blue-green algae in warm water areas, fire ant baits that contain bifenthrin and lilies beginning to bloom in our gardens. We will discuss each toxin and review their mechanism of action, toxic dose, clinical signs and treatment needs.

This program is approved by the AAVSB RACE to offer a total of 1 CE Credits.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Miss this webinar or looking for more free CE? Check out Pet Poison Helpline's  archives of RACE-approved lectures !
Adel Veterinary Clinic Featured on WOI-TV
A Des Moines news station featured the Adel Veterinary Clinic and their work to expand their hours during COVID 19 to help care for pets. Click on the photo or here to see the video.
And a Little Bit of Good News...
The winner in the Art Madness 2020 Tournament is The Gentle Doctor by Christian Petersen.

The original Gentle Doctor greets patients at the entrance of the Hixson-Lied Small animal Hospital at ISU CVM. A replica is on the plaza to the main entrance to the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine.

Art Madness was created by Natalie Beauchain, an intern at Iowa State University's Museum. Over 2500 votes were cast in the bracket challenge. The Gentle Doctor statue beat out the other finalist, The Zodiac by William Proudfoot.
Need PC Supplies?
During the COVID-19 crisis we may be shipping out preconditioning supplies slightly less frequently. The best option to order PC supplies is to email your order to ivma@iowavma.org .

Be sure to include:

  1. The number of tags/certificates needed (a box is 100 tags; a case is 1000 tags). Certificates can be ordered in any amount (no minimum).
  2. The color of tags or certificates needed (green or gold)
  3. The shipping address.
  4. A phone number for the IVMA staff to call if they they have questions.

The IVMA staff will do its best to ship the PC certificates and tags as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
New IVMA Members Only Facebook Group
The IVMA has started an IVMA Members Only Facebook group . This private group is available for you to ask questions of, share ideas with and provide support to other IVMA members. If you hear of questions or concerns from colleagues, please share the information or ask them to share it on this forum.

To join the IVMA Members Only Facebook Group, visit the Iowa Veterinary Medical Facebook page and click on “Join” on the IVMA Members Only group.
Please invite other IVMA members to join this group - the more participation we have, the better the group will be.
 
How You Can Reach Us

To do our part in helping to protect public health, some of the IVMA staff will be working remotely until further notice. But, we're not far away!

Email:   ivma@iowavma.org
Call:  515-965-9237 (if we can't answer, please leave a voicemail and we will return your call if we miss you)
Emergency cell: Call Dr. Randy Wheeler at 515-975-5270.
The IVMA Communiqué is published bi-monthly by the
Iowa Veterinary Medical Association
1605 N. Ankeny Blvd Suite 110, Ankeny, IA 50023
515-965-9237 or 800-369-9564
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