News from the Maryland Veterinary Medical Association Winter/Spring 2010
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EDUCATION l REGULATORY UPDATES l BUSINESS GUIDES l MVMA NEWS Mid-Atlantic States Veterinary Clinic Set for May 6 6 CE Credits • Howard County Fairgrounds
In addition to the educational tracks, exhibitors will be on hand displaying veterinary products and services to enhance your practice. Join your peers and make sure to register by April 23 for discounted registration fees. DETAILS Summer Conference Returns to Ocean City Northern Virginia and District of Columbia VMAs Invited as Partners MVMA is headed back to the beach for its 2010 Summer Conference. And this time, we’re bringing some friends. MVMA is partnering with the Northern Virginia Veterinary Medical Association and the District of Columbia Veterinary Medical Association in promoting the event. The conference will be held June 26-29 at the Clarion Resort in Ocean City. “We want to foster better relationships with our sister organizations and produce a better event for all involved,” says MVMA Executive Director Ron Sohn. “By partnering with DCVMA and NVVMA we’ll bring more veterinarians to the conference which means more knowledge and more networking opportunities.” The Program Committee is putting the finishing touches on the event now. Look for registration materials in the mail and online soon. 2010 Bovine Conference to be Held April 29-30 The 2010 Mid-Atlantic States Conference for Bovine Practitioners will be held April 29-30 at the Clarion Hotel in Hagerstown, MD. If you practice bovine veterinary medicine, this is a premier opportunity for continuing education, business information and networking. DETAILS Animal Law Symposium Set for April 9 The Animal Law Section of the Maryland State Bar Association, in conjunction with the University of Baltimore School of Law and the Journal of Animal Law and Ethics, Pennsylvania School of Law and a myriad of other sponsors, will host the first-ever regional Mid-Atlantic Symposium on Animal Law. The Impact On & Opportunities For Animals in the Current Political and Economic Climate will be a one-day symposium that will be held at the University Of Baltimore School Of Law Friday, April 9, 2010, from 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. DETAILS FROM THE PRESIDENT 125 Years and Still Holding to Our Core Values The Maryland State Veterinary Medical Association held its first meeting in September 1885 with the purpose of advancing veterinary science. Those were old terms, serving old times and reflect challenges facing the earliest of associations. DETAILS FROM THE AVMA DELEGATE AVMA Leadership Conference Report AVMA held its Veterinary Leadership Conference and House of Delegates January 8-10, 2010 in Chicago. Five MVMA members attended the event. DETAILS NAMEVMC to Lead in Designing How Veterinary Medicine will Meet Changing Needs In 2009, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), devised and approved a plan guiding them for the next five years. One of the six strategic goals of this plan is for the AAVMC to provide leadership in designing how veterinary medicine will rise to meet the changing and growing needs of society. To help achieve this goal, the association recently formed the North American Veterinary Medical Educational Consortium (NAVMEC). DETAILS Shifting Societal Needs and Changes to Professional Competencies Assessed by Over 100 Veterinary Leaders One of the most diverse representations of veterinary organizations ever assembled completed three days of meetings to begin a year-long effort to chart the course for the future of veterinary medical education. DETAILS News from the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine At this time, the need for veterinarians in public and corporate veterinary medicine is expanding, and in many cases, is critical. Shortages are predicted and new demands and areas of focus are developing. DETAILS AVMA Seeking Exemption to Red Flag Rules The American Bar Association was successful in litigation to preclude the Red Flag Rules from applying to attorneys. Building on that success, the AVMA cosigned a letter with the American Medical Association, the American Dental Association and the American Osteopathic Association to request similar relief. The letter asks that the rules not apply to licensed health care professionals. DETAILS Important Notice for Federally Accredited Veterinarians New National Veterinary Accreditation Program (NVAP) Regulations became effective February 1, 2010. DETAILS INDUSTRY NEWS AVMA and WebMD Offer Online Pet Information The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and WebMD have teamed up to launch a pet health community called the Pet Health Exchange. Visitors to the new site can discuss pet health issues with AVMA member veterinarians. DETAILS Doing More with Less - Improving Staff Utilization Improved staff utilization is a more critical element of successful practices now than ever before. Practices that want to become more profitable can no longer just count on fee increases to achieve this goal. Improved profitability and patient care must come from improved business practices. DETAILS Be Wary of Magnetic Strips that Don't Work Victims of credit card theft have been scratching their heads trying to figure out how someone has used their card when they still have it in their wallet. That’s because the newest credit card scam involves the luck and patience of perpetrators without the presence of a valid card. DETAILS Check Your Credit Card Processing Statements Regularly Did you know if you participate in MVMA’s Credit Card Processing Program through RCSC you can review your account as often as you choose online instead of waiting to receive your statement in the mail each month? Checking your account frequently really pays off, as the following example demonstrates. DETAILS MVMA Board Approves Discount Dues Program for Practices with Multiple Veterinarians In response to our membership amending the MVMA bylaws, the Executive Board sent a letter to all members seeking their comments. MVMA is pleased to announce that 85 percent of those responding were in favor of this proposal. Executive Director Ron Sohn expressed optimism for the implementation of this new program that becomes effective July 1, 2010. “The difficulty is sorting out who works where. It is important to note that the definition of a Multiple Veterinarian Practice is by location not ownership. We know the first year will be challenging, but not an impossible task. We are currently working on the program brochure, application and frequently asked question. All members will receive this information once completed.” Looking for Summer Help? Find a Student through MVMA MVMA is posting information about veterinary students seeking summer employment on its web site in an effort to connect students with MVMA members who might like to hire them. Students, click here to post your resume. MVMA members click here to review resumes. (Note: You will need your MVMA user id and password. If you don't know yours, click here.) Welcome New Members
MVMA welcomes the following members
who have joined since our last newsletter was published. 2010 Nomination and Election Procedures and Deadlines Here are the important dates in MVMA's 2010 election process. DETAILS MVMA Seeks Award Nominees The MVMA Public Relations Committee is looking for candidates for the following awards. Please use the online nomination form to nominate eligible veterinarians by May 1, 2010. DETAILS Frank Bertozzi, Jr., VMD Passes Away On March 10, 2010, Francis J. “Frank” Bertozzi, Jr., VMD, of Baldwin, MD passed away Dr. Bertozzi is survived by his wife, Linda (nee Doire) Bertozzi; his children Kimberly Heidelbach, Scott F. Bertozzi and Nicholas R. Bertozzi; and his grandchildren Ian and Evan Heidelbach, Lily, Baxter and Jackson Bertozzi. Dr. Bertozzi was a longtime member of the Maryland Veterinary Medical Association who specialized in equine veterinary medicine. Frank will be sorely missed at MVMA. Our condolences go out to his entire family. Famiy & friends will honor Frank’s life at the Evans Funeral Chapel in Monkton on Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 3-5 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Frank’s name may be made to University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Office of Development and Alumni Relations, 3800 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6047. Wobbler's Cases Wanted I have been working with a protocol called Prolotherapy that is designed to strengthen ligaments. I’ve lectured on it at NAVC twice, and will be at AVMA this year. A number of our colleagues are currently using this technique, and a number of Physiatrists (pain management specialist MDs) within the human medical community. I’ve had pretty good success in a variety of situations, and have used it to treat four Wobbler’s. Two of those cases responded very well, one not well at all (although I did not expect it to since it was already unable to walk) and the fourth one quite well, although the MRI was somewhat inconclusive as to whether it was truly/only a Wobbler’s, The classic name for this problem is Cervical Vertebral Instability, so the concept of strengthening ligaments makes perfect sense. Since preliminary results are so encouraging, and work done by veterinarians in Europe has also been encouraging, I am soliciting cases so that we have enough cases to have more reliable data.
I am definitely interested in
getting more cases of early Wobbler’s, since I don’t think it
makes sense in late stage patients. Please contact me for either
referrals or discussion on using the protocol. For any of you
that choose to attempt the protocol yourself, I am really
interested in developing a casebook, so your reports are
important. Join the Maryland Professional Volunteer Corps Can we count on you when a disaster strikes, an emergency is declared or a public health event is planned? The Maryland Professional Volunteer Corps is made up of health care and community professionals willing to respond to disasters and emergencies and assist with health promotion activities. DETAILS MVMA Classifieds MVMA's most recent job listings and listings for practices and equipment for sale. DETAILS |
News from MVMA Here is the Winter/Spring 2010 issue of The Maryland Veterinarian. You can find an archive of MVMA's newsletters in the members-only section of our web site Coming Events April 29-30, 2010 Mid-Atlantic States Conference for Bovine Practitioners Hagerstown, Maryland
May 6, 2010 Mid-Atlantic States Veterinary Clinic West Friendship, Maryland
June 26-29, 2010 MVMA Summer Conference Ocean City, Maryland
November 10-11, 2010 MVMA Fall Conference Timonium, Maryland MVMA Leadership Executive Director Ronald H. Sohn
Association Coordinator Sue Roloson
MVMA Headquarters 8015 Corporate Drive, Suite 5 Manchester, MD 21102 443-507-6500 ext. 107 Fax: 443-507-6519 Relief Veterinarians Click here for MVMA's List of Relief Veterinarians Contributions
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