2016 Winter Business Meeting: Report from the AVMA

As a service to those who were unable to attend the 2016 Annual Convention in Kearney, the following video captures the report from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) delivered during the Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) business meeting held on Thursday, January 21, 2016. The report is presented by Ted Cohn, DVM, immediate past president of the AVMA. Dr. Cohn is introduced in this video by Henry Cerny, DVM, immediate past president of the NVMA.

(Trouble viewing video? Click here).

2016 Winter Business Meeting

As a service to those who were unable to attend the 2016 Annual Convention in Kearney, the following video captures major portions of the business meeting held on Thursday, January 21, 2016.

(Trouble viewing the video? Click here).

NVMA Holds Annual Session With State Senators

In foreground from left, State Sen. Matt Williams, District 36, Lincoln; NVMA President-elect Roy Gehrt, DVM of Lexington; and Vergil Heyer, DVM, of Ainsworth.

The Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) held its Annual Lunch with the Senators at the State Capitol in Lincoln on Tuesday, January 26, 2016. Twenty-two senators or aides attended, along with the following NVMA representatives: Dr. Ron Wallman, Dr. Lance Roasa, Dr. Drew Olson, Dr. Bruce Brodersen, Dr. Rick Cockerill, Dr. Roy Gehrt, Dr. Al Doster, Dr. Vergil Heyer, VM2 Student Tessa Klein, VM2 Student Andrew Bose, NVMA Executive Director Dina Michel and NVMA lobbyist Michelle Weber.

Dr. Gehrt addressed the senators and aides, welcoming them, thanking them for attending and letting them know that the NVMA is available as a resource to them if they have any questions on issues that affect veterinary medicine.  Dr. Gehrt also thanked State Sen. Mark Kolterman of Lincoln for introducing LB 908, which provides for temporary licenses for veterinary technicians.  Dr. Al Doster gave an update on the UNL Diagnostic Lab progress and the Professional Program of Veterinary Medicine at UNL.

2016 Leadership Team Takes the Reins

From left, President Shane B. Pedersen, DVM of Pierce; President-elect Roy Gehrt, DVM of Lexington; Secretary-Treasurer Victoria Winfield, DVM of Hastings; Immediate Past President Henry Cerny, DVM of Lincoln.

Shane B. Pedersen, DVM of Pierce has been elected president of the Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association for 2016. Roy Gehrt, DVM of Lexington is the NVMA's new president-elect and Victoria Winfield, DVM of Hastings will serve as secretary-treasurer. Henry Cerny, DVM of Lincoln is the immediate past president.

The new leadership team was sworn in on January 21, 2016 at the NVMA Convention in Kearney. Pedersen's first words as President to the Association are captured in this video:

(Trouble viewing video? Click here.)

Brodersen, Van Patten and Gottschalck Garner NVMA Honors

Bruce Brodersen, DVM, of Lincoln was named Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) Veterinarian of the Year at the NVMA awards banquet on Thursday, January 21.  Brent Van Patten, DVM, of Bridgeport received the Distinguished Service Award and Brian Gottschalck of Omaha and Animal Health International was named Commercial Representative of the Year. Congratulations to these fine individuals. See them receive their recognition in the video below:

USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic H7N8 Avian Influenza in a Commercial Turkey Flock in Dubois County, Indiana

WASHINGTON, January 15, 2016 -- The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H7N8 avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial turkey flock in Dubois County, Indiana.  This is a different strain of HPAI than the strains that caused the 2015 outbreak.  There are no known cases of H7N8 infections in humans.  As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses, including HPAI.

Read the full USDA release

RELATED

Interview with Nebraska State Veterinarian Dennis Hughes on HPAI

Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Launches New Mobile Device App so Clients Can Track Progress on Diagnostic Samples for Animal Patients

Veterinarians Brady Luke and Charles Luke access diagnostic results in the field on a cellphone using a new app developed by the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

MANHATTAN, Kansas — Diagnostic results are now within touch at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory — thanks to the launch of a brand-new app for mobile devices. The lab anticipates the new app will improve customer service and efficiency at delivering results to veterinarians across the country.

Gary Anderson, director of the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, said the new app is a significant step forward in helping to deliver results.

"This is a major advancement in being able to provide diagnostics to practicing veterinarians out in the field," Anderson said. "Traditionally, we have used a variety of methods of delivery, from snail mail, telephone, fax and email. This app will give veterinarians a way to track the results as soon as they are received here in the lab. It will save time for everyone involved and is a real win-win for veterinarians and their clients who are seeking the best in medical care for their animals."

Gregg Hanzlicek, director of production animal field investigations for the Kansas State Diagnostic Laboratory, said that the app was specifically designed to meet client needs.

"We meet with so many of our veterinarians at conferences and events, and they have really prompted the demand to get results quicker and more easily," Hanzlicek said. "We're very excited we were able to figure out a way to merge the technology in our lab with the type of programming needed to create this type of an app for mobile devices. We're breaking new ground because there wasn't really anything else like this for us to emulate. We're fortunate to have the right people in our college to develop the application and test it for reliability."

Justin Wiebers is the director of client connections in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

"We studied what our veterinarians needed and looked at how the best mobile apps in other areas delivered on those types of needs," Wiebers said. "Then our programmers here in the college went to work."

Wiebers said push notifications are sent to veterinarians when their samples arrive in the lab and when their test results are ready. The veterinarians can then view and share those results wherever they happen to be working.

"It's a very intricate system to get information from our diagnostic lab database to the individual clients who are using a variety of Android, iPhone, and iPad devices," he said. "We're very excited to help our veterinarians be more productive while breaking new ground in the field of mobile apps for K-State."

The app is available at the App Store and at Google Play; just search for "KSVDL Mobile." Clients can get more information about the app by contacting the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at clientcare@vet.k-state.edu, 866-512-5650 or visit ksvdl.org.

Plan Now to Attend the 2016 Bull Management Conference

Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine

and

University of Nebraska Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center

 

announce

 

Bull Management Conference

Reproduction in Cow-Calf Herds:  Focus on

Bull Management

 

One Great Conference – Two Locations!

 

Thursday, February 18, 2016 – Manhattan, Kansas

Friday, February 19, 2016 – GPVEC, Clay Center, Nebraska

Mark your calendars for the 2016 Bull Management Conference on Thursday, February 18, 2016 at the Stanley Stout Center in Manhattan, Kansas and Friday, February 19, 2016 at the Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center in Clay Center, Nebraska.

Click here for general conference information.

Click here for registration information.

Click here to register online.

Click here for downloadable mail or fax registration form.

Committee Advances Prescription Drug Monitoring Bill

While Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, marked only Day 3 of this legislative session, bills introduced last session remain for consideration and have begun making their way toward a vote.

One such bill, LB 471, that requires dispensers to report certain information to a prescription drug monitoring program, was advanced unanimously out of the Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016 by a vote of 7-0. The bill will now go to the floor of the Legislature where it will be considered and voted on by the entire Legislature.

The bill advanced by the committee requires dispensers (including veterinarians) of prescription drugs to report all drugs dispensed to a prescription drug monitoring program within 24 hours of dispensing. It is important to note that we expect an amendment to be filed soon by Senator John Kuehn, DVM that will limit veterinarians' duty to report to only controlled drugs schedule II-IV, and will give veterinarians one additional year to begin reporting to the program. 

The NVMA Board and Legislation Committee have been working with the introducer and co-sponsors of the bill to address the veterinary concerns since this bill was introduced last session. As a part of these on-going conversations, the Board is currently considering a compromise amendment that would create a task force to study and determine the classes of controlled substances to be reported to the prescription monitoring program by veterinarians when dispensing drugs from the veterinary office. Such study shall include appropriate methods and procedures of reporting by the veterinarians with the necessary database field information. Under the proposed compromise, veterinarians would still be a part of the prescription drug monitoring program starting in 2018, leaving time for the Legislature to address any changes suggested by the task force.

The NVMA Board of Directors will hold a special meeting at the NVMA January Conference to discuss this amendment and vote on the direction we want to pursue with this legislation. If you have questions or comments about the legislation or the proposed compromise, please contact your district representative or other board member (click here).

Calendar and Electronic Commerce Top the List of Your Website Preferences

We invited all members of the Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) to participate in an online survey to determine what you want the Association’s website to do for you.

Forty-four of you responded. Here are highlights of what you told us.

The top five features you want to see on the NVMA website:

1. Events calendar.
2. Electronic commerce: Capability to pay online through the website all membership dues, advertising bills, conference and CE fees, and any other dollar transaction with the NVMA.
3. Online continuing education opportunities.
4. Resources such as licensing information, career/employment opportunities and classified advertising.
5. Forum for member discussions of regulatory and legislative issues.

Several of you mentioned that a mobile app and mobile-friendly website also are important to you.

The vast majority of you wish to hear from the NVMA through email. A few want the NVMA to use other means, such as texting. We will communicate with you according to your preferences.

We will continue to seek input from the membership as we retool and improve the website and Association communication processes. The five features listed above, and many others, will be built into the new website.

This work will begin immediately and we expect to have the new NVMA website up and running before the end of the first quarter of the year.

Watch this blog for updates on our progress.