USA Rural areas face veterinarian shortage

[Guest guest]

Rural areas face veterinarian shortage

By SHANNON DININNY, Associated Press Writer Sat Mar 8, 2:46 PM ET

CONNELL, Wash. - Bill has spent 45 years feeding and herding

2,500 cattle on his rolling eastern Washington ranch. He's also had to

act as a doctor because he's unable to find a veterinarian who will

come to his rural spread.

He's not alone, as farmers and ranchers across the country complain of

a shortage of large-animal veterinarians. A federal program created in

2003 to help the situation sits dormant while the U.S. Department of

Agriculture writes rules.

In addition to caring for livestock and pets, veterinarians monitor

and inspect a large portion of the food supply and work as disease

researchers. Food safety experts fear that public health is being

endangered by the shortage.

Many states recognize the critical need and are approving or

considering bills to provide tuition reimbursement or scholarships to

veterinarians who agree to work in underserved areas. Those states

include Washington, where has been championing rural

veterinary care for years.

" I can't get a vet to save my life. I've tried for years to get one to

move in here and start a practice and they don't want to do it. They

want to do bigger cities and small animals, " said. " I complain

about them spending all our money educating dog and cat doctors. "

Recent studies for the American Veterinary Medical Association

indicate that demand for veterinarians nationally will increase by as

much as 14 percent by 2016 but the shortfall will remain 4 to 5

percent annually. The nation's 28 veterinary schools graduate about

2,500 veterinarians annually, a number that hasn't grown for at least

a couple of decades.

The seriousness of the shortage was highlighted with the recent recall

of 143 million pounds of beef from a Chino, Calif., slaughterhouse.

The recall launched a series of congressional hearings and close

scrutiny of the USDA's meat and poultry inspection system.

The USDA has said it is short about 500 inspectors.

Considering the huge amount of the food supply that veterinarians

monitor, " it's not like the remaining veterinarians can pick up the

slack, " said Kirkpatrick, spokesman for the American Veterinary

Medical Association at Schaumburg, Ill. " We're seeing more and more

states taking steps to address the situation. "

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, eight

states have implemented loan forgiveness programs for veterinarians

who agree to work in underserved areas, and eight others are

considering similar programs.

Vets tend to gravitate toward small-animal care because ranchers will

often choose to slaughter a sick or injured animal rather than pay for

expensive treatment, while a pet owner will spend heavily to save a

treasured friend, said Warwick Bayly, dean of Washington State

University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

" When you balance the needs for simple, day-to-day living plus

repayment of sizable student loans, the debt often exceeds what you

can expect to make in an agricultural area. It's just simple math, " he

said. " But that shouldn't be interpreted that people aren't interested. "

Federal support has been slow to come. Veterinary groups have been

pushing federal legislation that would award $1.5 billion in

competitive grants so schools could expand.

The Veterinary Medical Service Act, signed into law by President Bush

in 2003, has been delayed by the rule-making process. It would provide

tuition reimbursement to veterinarians who agree to work in

underserved areas, whether the shortage is a rural area, discipline or

government agency. So far, nearly $1.9 million has been appropriated

for it.

USDA officials have committed to working with Congress to find ways to

speed and streamline the rule-making process to aid the private

veterinary sector.

" The interest is high, and everyone is working hard to find a

solution, " said Hedberg, acting director of governmental and

legislative affairs for USDA's research mission area.

A solution can't come fast enough for , his son and the three

grandchildren who work with him on his ranch.

Granddaughter , 28, agrees that a local veterinarian is needed.

" We have to haul or go a long ways to get things done, " she said. " In

a full day, it can mean a lot. "

http://news./s/ap/20080308/ap_on_re_us/vet_shortage_1

Food inspection is not the only problem, since vets are a part of the

protection that the USA has against agricultural terrorism. Of course

with only 28 veterinary schools, that is not even one school per US State.