The importance that philanthropy plays in the success of the VMTH was highlighted recently in the April “Case of the Month.” An exciting groundbreaking procedure—the first 3D laparoscopic adrenalectomy—was performed by Dr. Balsa and the Soft Tissue Surgery Service thanks to new equipment purchased with donor funds.
A grateful client, whose dog underwent an adrenalectomy a year ago, was interested in helping the service further due to the great care she and her dog received. She had the capacity to help purchase a 3D scope that would vastly improve on the 2D scope being used, decreasing surgical time and also decreasing the potential for surgical errors. Thanks to relationship building by Dr. Mayhew and the Advancement team, the client followed through on her offer to help further, and a new 3D scope is now in use.
The school’s Advancement team does an amazing job with fundraising and are consistently one of the top fundraising teams at UC Davis. They helped raise more than $28 million so far this year and are on track to meet this year’s goal of $40 million. But they can’t do it alone. Our caseload is too large for them to follow up with every client. Therefore, it is up to us to help keep watchful eyes and ears for potential donors. Please pay close attention for clients who offer to help or who seem to have the capacity to donate. If you encounter such a client, or even suspect one might be interested, contact Christine Vargas in the Advancement Office. You can also join us in our inaugural faculty and staff giving month happening now. This is such a powerful statement to give to hospital donors that our faculty and staff are participating. Remember, it’s the participation that counts, and every gift, no matter the size, makes a difference.
As we move further into Phase I of the Veterinary Medical Center campaign, our philanthropic partnerships will become more and more important. More than 95% of the VMC will ultimately be funded by donors. I am thrilled that we will get the opportunity to work in the foremost veterinary hospital in the world when our VMC vision becomes reality. Our facilities will finally match our faculty and staff’s skills and talent levels, and innovative procedures like Dr. Balsa’s 3D surgery will become more commonplace as we continue to focus on pushing the envelope of veterinary medicine.
We all play a part in that future, as we discover new philanthropic opportunities for the hospital. We are present for some of our clients’ most traumatic and dramatic moments. Client relationships formed by students, staff, and faculty alike may all have a lasting impact on their lives. And with your help, perhaps they will make a lasting impact on our lives.
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Dr. Jane Sykes
Chief Veterinary Medical Officer
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Join us in celebrating VMTH Clinician Recognition Day on April 30. We appreciate their efforts to provide outstanding patient care; advance knowledge of clinical veterinary medicine; provide the highest level of education to students, referring veterinarians, and animal owners; and provide service to the profession.
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Recognitions
The hospital’s Focused Recognition Award Program provides an opportunity to highlight our ongoing cultural journey and recognize those who have provided remarkable progress within our five cultural beliefs: One Team, Trusted Dialogue, Pursue Excellence, Realize Our Vision, and Value People.
March recipients:
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Sarah Sanders was recognized for exemplifying our cultural beliefs of Pursue Excellence, One Team, Value People, and Realize Our Vision, which contributed to the key result of Outstanding Patient Care.
“Sarah assisted with updating all of the Community Practice Service standard operating procedures (SOPs), spending countless hours ensuring all SOPs are current, including the new hire training log. Her assistance has made training for the new hires smooth. Thank you for your help.”
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Danielle Randall was recognized for exemplifying our cultural beliefs of Pursue Excellence, One Team, and Value People, which contributed to the key result of Outstanding Patient Care.
“Danielle was very helpful with training a new employee. Her willingness to take on a staff member from another service was a life saver.”
Thank you, Sarah and Danielle, for your hard work and dedication to the VMTH.
The Cultural Pillars Committee is excited to bring you a new and improved recognition program. Please be on the lookout for information in the near future, but in the meantime please continue to submit Focused Recognition cards so we can show our appreciation to our employees. The drop boxes are located: Reception A, second floor in Pritchard waiting room 2198; Large Animal Reception, first floor in Pritchard next to water fountain/restrooms; Reception B, first floor in CCAH next to the recycle bins.
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Support Service Recognition:
Patient Care
Caseload in the small animal ER has increased significantly during the pandemic due to many local veterinary clinics being unable to provide their usual levels of care. Admittances to the ER are up 25% compared to immediately before the pandemic, placing the average number of cases per month at 520 for 2020, with spikes to as much as 860 (July). Add to this the decrease in student hours in the VMTH, and our short-staffed ER team has heroically stepped up to serve our clients. With fewer (or no) students on duty, the ER staff lost valued assistance with after-hour responsibilities such as gathering patient information, triaging patients and beginning physical examinations, car-side receiving, performing radiology procedures, and answering clients calls. Consequently, this increase has also placed a strain on the ICU staff, as many ER cases may be transferred there. Thank you to our critical care teams for their dedication to patient care and to fulfilling a much needed resource to our community during these trying times.
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Key Cultural Pillar
“Realize Our Vision”
The VMTH was recently selected as the winner of the “Veterinarians” category for 2021 Best of Davis Awards. The Davis Award Program was created to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of businesses and organizations in and around Davis. Its mission is to raise the profile of exemplary companies and entrepreneurs among the press, the business community, and the general public. Congratulations to all faculty and staff on this well-deserved award!
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In March, the VMTH virtually hosted its annual Gerald V. Ling Veterinary Intern and Resident Research Day (VIRRS). The day-long event featured short presentations of research findings from house officers (resident, fellow, intern) to fellow house officers, faculty, staff, students, and guests. Congratulations to the planning committee for organizing the first virtual VIRRS in the 43-year history of the event. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was conducted 100% online in 2021, after having been canceled for the first time ever in 2020.
Award winners at the 2021 VIRRS include:
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Overall Grand Prize Research Study and Presentation
- Dr. Kelly Ramsay (fellow), Lab Animal Pathology: “A Possible Mouse Model of Calcaneal (Achilles) Tendinopathy with Chondroid Metaplasia”
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- Dr. Samantha Darling (resident III), Pathology: “Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibition in Canine Glioma”
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Gerald V. Ling Award for Outstanding Small Animal Research Study and Presentation
- Dr. Flavio Alonso (resident III), Clinical Pathology: “Lipoprotein Profile of Transudates in Dogs and Cats”
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Outstanding Small Animal Research Study and Presentation #2
- Dr. Emmelyn Hsieh (resident II), Internal Medicine: “Diagnostic Yield of Cystoscopy Compared to Ultrasonography for Evaluating Lower Urinary Tract Disorders in Dogs”
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Outstanding Small Animal Research Study and Presentation #3
- Dr. Craig Sutter (resident III), Internal Medicine: “A Pilot Study to Assess Endoscopic Placement of Patient Specific 3D-Printed Nasopharyngeal Stents in Canine Cadavers”
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Chris Smith Award for Outstanding Equine Research Study and Presentation
- Dr. Stefanie Arndt (resident II), Equine Surgery: “Comparison of Peripheral Blood Glucose Concentration and Peritoneal Fluid Variables Between Horses with Septic and Non-Septic Peritonitis”
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Outstanding Large Animal Research Study and Presentation
- Dr. David Sheedy (resident III), Dairy Production Medicine: “Effect of Antimicrobial Treatment on Rates of Gain and Loss of Ceftiofur Resistance in Enterobacteriaceae from Adult California Dairy Cows”
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Outstanding Avian, Exotics, Lab Animal or Poultry Research Study and Presentation
- Dr. Eric Littman (fellow I), Aquatic Animal Health: “Experimental Infection of a Virulent Strain of Lactococcus garvieae from Mortality Events at Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Hatcheries Under Various Conditions”
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Staff Update:
- Thank you to Jan Harlan for her many years of service to the VMTH, as she begins her retirement. Jan started here as an undergraduate student in 1987, cleaning the ambulatory trucks and cleaning cages in the Small Animal Clinic. She later worked as a cashier, collection representative, and supervisor in client services. For a decade, she worked in the Dean’s Office as an MSO for VM Extension & Public Programs and came back to the VMTH as the Executive Officer/Administrative Supervisor to the CVMO since 2009. Her leadership and relationship building has been vital to the VMTH over the last 30+ years. Her richness of knowledge of the university, its systems, and people have been invaluable to her role and to the success of the VMTH. We will miss you, Jan!
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- Niki Adams has accepted the position of Administrative Supervisor to the CVMO to replace Jan Harlan. This is a bittersweet appointment for the VMTH – we will miss Niki in her former role as Student Clinical Affairs Officer, as she has done an amazing job in that role, but we are excited to have Niki’s VMTH experience in her new position. The hospital is actively working to identify candidates for the Student Clinical Affairs Officer position to ensure we have a transition that is as seamless as possible. Please join us in welcoming Niki to her new role.
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Hospital Update:
- The school hosted a training seminar for VMTH and VERT personnel by the Animal Decontamination Group in coordination with the HALTER Project. Animal decontamination may be necessary in disaster where animals are exposed to toxic materials. The training for animal decontamination included a virtual 8-hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response training followed by the 8-hour in-person training exercise of animal decontamination with live animals. The goal was to create a mock scenario for animal decontamination that would: (1) reinforce the basic principles of animal decontamination, (2) exercise collaboration between different organizations, (3) provide a beta test of the large animal decontamination unit developed by CODE 3 and Animal Decon, (4) provide the opportunity for the UC Davis personnel to reflect and give insights on best practices for animal decontamination. Several faculty and staff participated in the event.
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Facilities Update:
- The east elevator in the VMTH is currently under renovation and is on track to be completed by the first week of May. The west elevator will be next on the schedule, followed by the north elevator. While some of the construction has been noisy, thank you for being patient. The elevators will be much improved when the project is completed.
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VMC Update:
- Advertising for construction bids for the Veterinary Medical Center’s All Species Imaging Center (ASIC) began this week. The bid process will be roughly four weeks and another six to eight weeks for finalizing the contract. As part of the process, there is a mandatory pre-bid conference where prospective bidders are walked through the areas of construction and renovation. Currently, that walk through is scheduled for May 4 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Areas affected will be most of the Large Animal Clinic (including barns), Pharmacy/Central Receiving, and the Small Animal ER/ICU. Thank you for accommodating this temporary inconvenience. Once a contractor is selected, construction staging for the ASIC project will begin in early summer and work will begin mid-summer.
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VMTH Committee Update:
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Operating Room Committee – The Operating Room Committee oversees functions and requirements of the operating room environments. Members of the committee include: Drs. Bill Culp, Joao Soares, Scott Katzman, Boaz Arzi, and Chai-Fei Li, and well as staff members Debbie Hill and Tamati Vanderbyl. The responsibilities of the committee include monitoring the quality of care delivered in the operating rooms and post-anesthesia recovery unit and resolving problems relevant to the functions of these areas, as well as recommending and drafting policies and procedures for review by the Hospital Board and dissemination to all clinicians and staff that use the operating rooms.
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Wellness Tip of the Month
Florence Soares-Dabalos, MS, LMFT, the VMTH’s client support and wellness professional, offers a brief tip on managing stress through the current crisis. Please see full website of services that Florence offers.
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month. To learn more, or do a self-screening, please visit the Mental Health America (MHA) website. A mental health screening is a tool that has been proven by research to help identify symptoms of a mental health disorder. MHA’s screening tools provide an anonymous, free and private way to learn about your mental health and if you are showing warning signs of a mental illness. A screening only takes a few minutes, and after you are finished you will be given information about the next steps you should take based on the results. A screening is not a diagnosis, but it can be a helpful tool for starting a conversation with your doctor or a loved one about your mental health.
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