Mondays with Mark

The latest episode of “Mondays with Mark” focuses on the school’s four key Strategic Initiatives that will advance the school in these important areas:

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Facilities
• People First
• Research

The VMTH’s new surgery center is featured in this episode, as construction of new clinical space will play an important role in the Facilities category.

Faculty Update:

• Please welcome Dr. Tyler Jordan as an assistant professor with the Dermatology Service. Dr. Jordan received his DVM (2014) from Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, and completed a one-year internship (2015) in small animal medicine and surgery at The Ohio State University. He then completed a residency (2016-2019) at UC Davis and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology in 2019. He received his PhD (2019-2023) in Comparative Biomedical Sciences at North Carolina State University. Dr. Jordan’s research focuses on the mechanisms and management of allergic, autoimmune, and neoplastic skin disease in companion animal species.

Staff Update:

• Congratulations to Ali Harmon on becoming a Veterinary Technician Specialist (VTS) in December when she was accepted into the Academy of Equine Veterinary Nursing Technicians. She is the first equine VTS at the VMTH. Ali is a 2009 graduate of UC Davis with a Bachelor's in Equine Science. After obtaining her RVT in 2017, she returned to the university working in the Large Animal ICU, where she is currently the assistant supervisor.

• As part of the VMTH’s efforts to foster communication and collaboration, VMTH leadership is implementing a Staff Forum. The forums are open to all employees and will provide opportunities to discuss topics that impact operations, as well as to engage in a dialog about issues important to staff. The first Staff Forums are tentatively scheduled for January 24 (LAC), February 14 (SAC), March 20 (Labs/Admin/Support Services), April 17 (LAC), May 15 (SAC), and June 12 (Labs/Admin/Support Services). The events will be held in Valley 1047 with Zoom options. Please check with your manager for more information regarding participation.

Trainer’s Corner with Jody Nugent-Deal

Happy New Year everyone! Originally coined by the AVMA, National Dental Health Month is traditionally celebrated in February. Our CE for next month will be focused on dental health across multiple species. All links to our January CE webinars, articles, and podcasts can be found at our new VMTH Staff Training website. This will give access to all VMTH CE and associated documents. If you have a topic or speaker you would like to see for our upcoming in-person and on-demand CE sessions, shoot me an email at jpnugent@ucdavis.edu.

Recognitions

January's recipients of the VPETT Recognition Award:

Juan-Luis Alvarez, an animal health technician in the Cardiology Service, was recognized for exemplifying our cultural beliefs of Realize Our Vision and One Team.

“Thank you, Juan, for providing help to the Small Animal Internal Medicine Service on a busy day when we needed help. You helped us get through the day.”

Nick Orndorff, a supervisor in small animal patient care, was recognized for exemplifying our cultural belief of One Team.

“Nick went above and beyond with the deep cleaning of the hospital. When Nick was made aware of the issue in the hospital and we were asking for volunteers, he immediately stepped up. He was able to clean the ECC unit while navigating the patients and staff and came in on his days off to assist with cleaning and organizing volunteers. Nick assisted with the setup of cleaning supplies and helped instruct people who do not normally clean on safety and handling of the chemicals. All areas that Nick cleaned have come back with negative cultures which in layman’s terms means Nick did a fantastic job of cleaning and disinfecting the area.”

Thank you, Juan and Nick, for your hard work and dedication to the VMTH. Kassondra Lopez and Amanda Dang also received awards for recognizing their fellow employees.

Please utilize the PerfectForm icon link available on every VMTH desktop (or through VIPER>VMTH>Forms>VPETT) to recognize your colleagues’ hard work.

Key Cultural Pillar



“Pursue Excellence”

Noodle, a 3-year-old male poodle mix, made history at the VMTH recently when he became the first patient ever to have percutaneous stone removal surgery without initial lithotripsy. Following two years of specialist referrals, medical treatments, and diet alterations, Noodle ultimately landed at the VMTH for his kidney stone issues. Drs. Carrie Palm and Dennis Woerde had previously accomplished the first ever percutaneous removal of kidney stones in a dog, however that case needed lithotripsy, a shockwave therapy of downsizing the stones. They were confident the procedure could work on Noodle, and his stones were small enough to not need to be broken down. This novel procedure eliminates the need for invasive surgery, which is the current standard protocol of care. Ultrasound was used to gain percutaneous access to Noodle’s kidney followed by the use of fluoroscopy to establish access into the kidney, where the imaging allowed guidance of a scope into the renal pelvis to remove more than 100 tiny stones. The incision needed for the procedure was so small that the tissue closed immediately upon removal of the needle, and no sutures were needed.

Wellness Tip of the Month with Florence Soares-Dabalos

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, including a section on House Officer Wellness.

• The 4^th annual Merck Veterinary Well-Being Study now includes information on Veterinary Teams. Please take a look.