PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Fall 2020 - 6

Team Talk
By Jennifer A. Keeler, CAE

Executive Director,
Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association

When I accepted the position as Executive Director of PVMA
last November, I knew that 2020 would be an exciting year in
my professional life. Little did I know it would an unprecedented
year for me and the veterinary profession. A global pandemic
and widespread civil unrest due to racial injustice have
challenged all of us and impacted everything we do.
As an organization, PVMA had to adapt to the challenge of
providing continuing education to our Members without our
traditional in-person events. Through webinars and a virtual
Keystone Veterinary Conference, we achieved our goal of
offering veterinary professionals a single source for quality
online CE, approved for licensure renewal requirements in
Pennsylvania.
Our organizational mission to advocate for the profession was
more of a challenge. Advocating for the veterinary profession
during a public health crisis proved to be an exercise in nimble
responsiveness. Just hours before our Virtual Town Hall Meeting
on March 19, 2020, Governor Wolf announced the closure of all
non-life sustaining business. Missing from the list of businesses
that could remain open were veterinary clinics. Our team
quickly worked to educate government officials that veterinary
services were considered healthcare and essential services could
continue to be provided. We then moved to inform veterinary
professionals about what qualifies as an urgent appointment
and which services should be delayed.
Next came the news that veterinarians were moved to the
category of "other professional, scientific and technical services"
on the list of life sustaining businesses. While other businesses
in this category were deemed non-life sustaining, veterinary
services were exempted and allowed to remain open. This
caused unanticipated confusion. Did veterinarians have to
follow the rules set for healthcare providers? Were they limited
to providing essential services? PVMA worked with the State
Board of Veterinary Medicine to bring clarity to the situation
and the State Board adopted AVMA COVID Guidelines. Were
veterinarians required to inventory and report their PPE,
6 | Keystone Veterinarian

pharmaceuticals, and other medical resources? We were able
to determine that the profession was not required to do that
but should consider preserving PPE and donating to our human
health colleagues where appropriate.
PVMA continued to provide all veterinary professionals in the
state, regardless of their membership status, with resources
to help them navigate practicing in a way that protected
employees, patients, and clients. We also continued to
advocate for clear guidelines from state government. Finally,
on May 8, 2020, The PA Department of Health, Department of
State, and Department of Agriculture issued official Guidance
on Veterinary Practices Amid COVID-19 Pandemic. PVMA
added this and other COVID-19 resources on our website at
bit.ly/pvmaCOVID under COVID Resources for Veterinary
Professionals. This resource center houses any information
we found resourceful to the veterinary profession during this
pandemic.
While we are not yet through this crisis, we can now look
back and determine what lessons we learned during those
tumultuous early months of the pandemic. The confusion
over where veterinary services fall in a public health disaster
reinforced the need for a One Health approach to protecting the
lives and wellbeing of Pennsylvanians. Veterinary medicine must
have a seat at the table when it comes to public health policy.
A critical part of our 2021-2022 legislative plan is to push for
legislation establishing an Animal Welfare Task Force. While the
concept predates COVID-19, the need for a more visible role for
veterinary medicine in establishing state laws and regulations,
as well as the creation of administrative policy, is now glaringly
obvious.
The COVID-19 crisis also established strong ties between PVMA
and top state veterinary professionals. Dr. Kevin Brightbill,
State Veterinarian at the Department of Agriculture, and Dr.
Betsy Schroeder, Public Health Veterinarian at the Department
of Health, were instrumental in helping PVMA navigate state
bureaucracies. They promptly responded to my calls and
http://www.bit.ly/pvmaCOVID
PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Fall 2020

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