The VMTH shortly after completion in 1970.

VMTH Featured on Voice of America

Breakthroughs in veterinary medicine treatments are the focus of a new 30-minute episode of an original series on the Voice of America (VOA) network. “Pet Innovations” is the latest episode of VOA TEK. The entire episode was filmed at the VMTH and features faculty and staff treating patients with some of the latest surgical techniques and clinical trials available. The original series on VOA explores the world’s challenges with cutting-edge solutions, medical breakthroughs, and high-tech discoveries. Areas of the VMTH highlighted in the episode include the Oncology, Emergency and Critical Care, Orthopedic Surgery, Dentistry and Oral Surgery, and Diagnostic Imaging Services.  

Staff Update:

• The VMTH has officially welcomed the first veterinary technician interns back into the hospital since before the pandemic. Yuba College and Carrington College have sent four outstanding and enthusiastic veterinary technician students to learn alongside the VMTH’s incredible staff and faculty. The interns will rotate through both large and small animal one day per week for the duration of their semester. In the summer, the VMTH will welcome a new group of interns two days per week, with plans to increase partnerships and intern numbers into the fall. If you are lucky enough to work alongside any of the interns, you will find their positivity and eagerness engaging. If your service is interested in having a future technician intern rotate through, please reach out to Harmony Lindberg at harlindberg@ucdavis.edu.

Yuba College veterinary technician interns (left to right) Jessica Young, Afton Parker, and Crystal Norman. Insert: Carrington College veterinary technician intern Kaley Ciraulo.

Please utilize the PerfectForm icon link available on every VMTH desktop (or through VIPER>VMTH>Forms>VPETT) to nominate your colleagues for recognition of an outstanding example of one of our five Cultural Pillars: Realize Our Vision, Value People, Pursue Excellence, One Team, Trusted Dialogue.

The Cultural Pillars Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the VPETT Recognition Award for the month of February.

February Recipients:

Carly Jones, an animal health technician in the Ophthalmology Service, was recognized for exemplifying our cultural beliefs of Value People and One Team, which contributed to the key results of Excellence in Patient Care and Employee Engagement.

“Carly was assisting with an add-on case in the Ophthalmology Service on an extremely busy day in the ORs. Space was limited, and a lot of cases were delayed and dependent on when procedures finished. Carly was extremely communicative, understanding, and helped to keep the day running efficiently. We appreciate her hard work and positive attitude.”

Delanie Ruf, an animal health technician in Surgery/OR, was recognized for exemplifying our cultural beliefs of Value People and One Team, which contributed to the key results of Excellence in Patient Care and Employee Engagement.

“We often have late cases going to surgery, and recently Delanie has been so helpful at the end of her workday, often staying late to help us drape in, or helping with other major cases, like a soft tissue case that might have needed a pelvis split. Having an efficient, calm, and capable tech like Delanie, even for just the beginning of an AFHR procedure, is an immense help.”

Thank you, Carly and Delanie, for your hard work and dedication to the VMTH.

In addition, Summer Condie and Sarah Sanders also received awards for recognizing the hard work of their colleagues.

Key Cultural Pillar

“One Team"

The collaborative nature of care at the VMTH was on display with Ginger’s case. The 13-year-old Belgian Malinois was first diagnosed with megaesophagus seven years ago when she presented with severe weakness from myasthenia gravis. With aggressive medical treatment, the Neurology/Neurosurgery Service supported Ginger back to health and her myasthenia gravis went into remission. However, the megaesophagus persisted until it became life-threatening. Thankfully for Ginger, her dedicated family and compassionate medical care team diligently worked to improve her quality of life. Refusing to give up hope, her team trialed several innovative medical and therapeutic procedures before opting for a surgery never performed at UC Davis that ended up saving Ginger’s life. Congratulations to Drs. Stan Marks and Tarini Ullal of the Internal Medicine Service who worked with many other services to get Ginger to a place where she could eat a liquid diet by mouth when fed upright. Her condition remains well controlled 18 months beyond the innovative surgery.

Wellness Tip of the Month

Florence Soares-Dabalos, MS, LMFT, the VMTH’s client support and wellness professional, offers a brief tip each month on managing stress during busy and demanding careers. Please see the full website of services that Florence offers, including a section on House Officer Wellness.

• How many times have we heard, “How can you manage your time better?” Maybe it’s not time that needs to be managed, but energy. According to the book The Power of Full Engagement, energy is drawn from four sources: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. It also discusses the importance of taking breaks to manage energy and produce better performance results. This 9-minute video covers the book’s concept, as well as ways to use “Recovery Rituals” to help you take breaks to re-energize. Because our brains tire after 90-minutes, we have to disengage in order to re-engage. I encourage you to develop recovery rituals for yourself to improve the quality of your work. If you need help developing, let me know, and I’ll review with you.