KOA Headlines
10 16 24 AVMA Past President Dr Rena Carlson on her opposition to Proposition 129
But there's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one. Member FDIC. Every day when you log in to Chumbakocino.com, the ultimate online social casino, you get a free daily bonus. Imagine if you got daily bonuses in other parts of your life. I chose french fries over loaded french fries. I asked Stewart from accounting about his weekend, even though I don't care. I updated my operating system without having to call tech support. Collect your free daily bonus at Chumbakocino.com now. Live the Chumba Life, B-D-W Group, no purchase necessary. Wait, wait, wait by long in terms of conditions, 18 plus. If you put aside 25 cents every week for a year, what could you get at the end? A few cups of coffee maybe, a candle, or you could get a year of the best reporting from all over the world. Go to washingtonpost.com/bf24 right now. You'll get a Washington Post subscription for 25 cents a week for your first year. This is a Black Friday sale, so it won't last long. Washington Post.com/bf24. It is Colorado's morning news. Marty Lenz, Gina Gondec, Good Morning Advocates for Proposition 129 argue that veterinary profession is facing work for shortages that can be addressed through a law by creating a new job category in the industry known as veterinary professional associates. Yeah, essentially this new role would require less training than a full-on veterinarian and wouldn't be legally able to assist in pet care across Colorado, and would be legally able to assist. But those against it say this is not the full story. Joining us now with more about it on the K-Away Common Spirit Health Hotline is the immediate past president for the American Veterinary Medical Association, someone who works with field graduates in Colorado. It's Dr. Rina Carlson. Dr. Carlson, thank you so much for your time this morning. Oh, absolutely. Happy to be here. Thanks for having me. We spoke with those in favor of Proposition 129 yesterday, and they had a little bit of what they were hoping in order to address that shortage that we're seeing in the state. But why do you feel the opposite of this? Well, on behalf of 100,000 veterinarians across the country, I think it's important to know that we are absolutely looking at the best interest of pets in Colorado as well as the public, and anything that might jeopardize or compromise the level of care that we are able to provide is really concerning. And so I think it's important to really look at the nuances of this proposition and what it might mean to animals in Colorado. Dr. Rina, we'll get into some of those, but I just want to ask from the top, do you agree that there is a shortage when it comes to pet care, a shortage of veterinarians? I think it's important to really look at the nuance of what our workforce challenges are, and it's really too simplified to just say we have a shortage of veterinarians. What we really have is a distribution problem, and we certainly have critical shortage areas, but once again, Proposition 129 really doesn't address that, and one of the real important shortage areas is in rural Colorado, where those veterinarians are responsible for large animals, ag animals, as well as companion animals. And again, Prop 129 just does not address that. So when it comes to this new position that they're looking at, and VPA, they explain that it's similar to a physician assistant in human medicine. If we have that, do you believe that it would still be acceptable or available for our pets? It's really an unrealistic comparison to say that the mid-level veterinary professional would be the equivalent, and essentially the proposal is to have these individuals, however well-meaning, do surgery, prescribe, diagnose, and do those things that veterinarians are uniquely qualified for, and so this really will harm pets in Colorado. You will have delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, which is actually going to increase care, or excuse me, increase cost of care, so there's so many things about the comparison of human medicine that just don't make sense. Well, when I say this, I know veterinary school is much harder because you have many different species and longer to go through, but setting that aside, Doctor, you say it's a distribution problem, not necessarily a point of care, but getting available vets out to areas that are needed. But why is that the problem, and why isn't more of an initiative taken, maybe on the parts of your end of other vets realizing it's not a credentialing problem, it's not a people problem, it's getting people in the right places problem. And this is a really good time to point out what Colorado is doing, and there has been bipartisan legislation, which is championed by Representative Karen McCormick, and that law has been passed, it's been signed by the governor. It's actually a pretty sweeping definition of credential veterinary technicians and really defining those roles, so veterinarians in those rural areas can leverage the skill of our veterinary technicians. So I really want to point out that Colorado's already taking some really important steps to get those targeted solutions to the true shortage areas. So we really want to applaud Colorado in those efforts, and of course, Representative McCormick. So Doctor Carlson, going off of that a little bit, what do you think is the best solution in addressing the vet shortage, aside from the distribution issue that we see? What are some other ways, if it isn't creating a new position to help? There are so many ways that we can make sure pets receive the care that they need and break down any of those barriers. And one of the things is absolutely getting a relationship with a veterinarian while your animal is healthy, and finding out those ways to keep them healthy. The best way to keep an animal healthy is prevention, and your veterinarian is going to be the best one, and the best resource for you to do that. There are many ways to also look at the cost barrier, whether that's creating savings accounts, insurance, again, preventative care. There are really many ways that we're promoting to, again, break down those barriers to veterinary care. And we're happy to report that actually the pandemic really created some problems, and our workforce in general was stretched to the limit. And thankfully, those things are really easing now that we're post-pandemic, and it is not difficult to get into a veterinarian. Our recent studies show that wait times to get into a veterinarian are really within just a day or two. Emergency wait times are way down compared to pandemic, so newer data is really showing that a lot of those barriers we saw during the pandemic are certainly back to pre-pandemic levels. You mentioned those rural areas, and I think of ranchers, farmers, and the like with their livestock. What's their reaction to this if you say they don't have the ability or there's no one out in their area to care for their animals? Do you get feedback from them? Are they concerned? Are they asking for help and saying we need more help? And this may be at least in the interim, a short solution for their needs. And that's a really good question, because it's part of why representative McCormick really brought important legislation forward and brought all of the stakeholders together. And that's really where some of these conversations should happen at the legislative level. So that all of the stakeholders can come together and find once again those targeted solutions. I think it's important to realize that rural areas across America are struggling. And so AVMA is certainly working on important areas like lone student debt relief and ways to allow veterinarians to have a sustainable career in rural areas compared to some of the more suburban and urban areas in companion animal. With their position and opposition of Proposition 129, it's immediate past president for the American Veterinary Medical Association. It's Dr. Rina Carlson. Dr. Carlson, thank you so much for your time this morning. There's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one member FDIC. It is Ryan here and I have a question for you. What do you do when you win? Like are you a fist-pumper, a woo hoo, a hand clap or a high-fiver? If you want to hone in on those winning moves, check out Chumba Casino. Choose from hundreds of social casino-style games for your chance to redeem serious cash prizes. New game releases weekly plus free daily bonuses, so don't wait. Start having the most fun ever at Chumba Casino.com. If you put aside 25 cents every week for a year, what could you get at the end? A few cups of coffee maybe, a candle, or you could get a year of the best reporting from all over the world. Go to washingtonpost.com/bf24 right now. You'll get a Washington Post subscription for 25 cents a week for your first year. This is a Black Friday sale, so it won't last long. WashingtonPost.com/bf24.