One Health

Meeting the needs of pets and their families requires a holistic approach, as the challenges are too complex for any one sector to tackle alone. Instead, a collaborative, multi-stakeholder effort is essential to effectively address these issues. Unfortunately, problems are often approached in isolated “silos”, leading to service gaps, inefficiencies, and unmet needs. A multi-disciplinary, cooperative approach would better serve the community.

According to Fernandes et al[i], five key elements are essential for effective collaboration in addressing complex societal challenges:

1. Individuals must be open to viewing problems from different perspectives.
2. Collaboration requires a willingness to compromise.
3. Adaptability is crucial as new challenges arise.
4. Organizations must remain realistic about their capabilities and responsive to public input and criticism.
5. Most importantly, trust must be built among members.

I’d love to hear about your experiences collaborating with other organizations. What benefits have you seen? What challenges have you faced in building and maintaining partnerships?

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Linda Daugherty
Associate Director
Program for Pet Health Equity
TN
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Thank you for posting this. It is such an important topic. At the Oregon Humane Society we opened a Community Veterinary Hospital in 2022 that offers discounted veterinary care. It increased access to care for pets in our community but it isn't a magic solution so that all pets have all the care they need. There are still gaps in veterinary services for pets. We are fortunate to have a Community Solutions Manager on staff that helps families apply for grants we know about and helps staff find things we can apply for and use to help clients. And still, for some clients $40 might as well be $4000 and we need partners in our community that offer free wellness and other care outside our model.
And there are other barriers to care, like transportation. We partner with a local Meals on Wheels chapter to utilize their grant funds to keep seniors and pets together. Their funds pay for vet visits and their staff and volunteers help with transportation and bridge some gaps between our staff and their population. It isn't just about their grant funds paying for the care, it is also about our team learning to work with seniors. Those are clients who could not use our services due to lack of transportation or limitations on handling a pet and who would not be able to afford even our discounted prices. 

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Kelly Bremken
Veterinary Social Worker
Oregon Humane Society
OR
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Kelly, thank you for sharing. I would love to hear more about the role of the Community Solutions Manager and how they have been able to build collaborations with community agencies. An animal welfare professional recently shared that trying to build collaborations between animal and human welfare agencies was like navigating the Tower of Babel. Can you share insights on how your organization has been able to bridge the gap?

------------------------------
Linda Daugherty
Associate Director
Program for Pet Health Equity
TN
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-14-2025 07:20 AM
From: Kelly Bremken
Subject: Needs of pets and their families are too big to meet alone

Thank you for posting this. It is such an important topic. At the Oregon Humane Society we opened a Community Veterinary Hospital in 2022 that offers discounted veterinary care. It increased access to care for pets in our community but it isn't a magic solution so that all pets have all the care they need. There are still gaps in veterinary services for pets. We are fortunate to have a Community Solutions Manager on staff that helps families apply for grants we know about and helps staff find things we can apply for and use to help clients. And still, for some clients $40 might as well be $4000 and we need partners in our community that offer free wellness and other care outside our model.
And there are other barriers to care, like transportation. We partner with a local Meals on Wheels chapter to utilize their grant funds to keep seniors and pets together. Their funds pay for vet visits and their staff and volunteers help with transportation and bridge some gaps between our staff and their population. It isn't just about their grant funds paying for the care, it is also about our team learning to work with seniors. Those are clients who could not use our services due to lack of transportation or limitations on handling a pet and who would not be able to afford even our discounted prices. 

------------------------------
Kelly Bremken
Veterinary Social Worker
Oregon Humane Society
OR
------------------------------

That description sounds about right! It is a team effort at our place. Our Community Solutions Manager works mostly with agencies, human and animal, that offer grant monies for veterinary care. She helps connect clients with resources to pay for their pets, shapes our program and decides our qualification requirements and where our money is best used. As the social worker I work with human social service agencies on things like including pets in their intake and needs assessments, offering resources to clients from already existing animal groups and encouraging them to see pets as a strength and part of the solution for a client. I can connect you to our Community Solutions Manager if you are interested in learning more about her role with our community hospital. She assists so many clients with affordable care!  And I hopefully help agencies and other human providers see the benefit of keeping pets and people together. Our team jokes that I go to any human provider meeting or professional group gathering I can get invited to and I take kittens or puppies from the shelter and then remind them why pets are important, hopefully before a puppy or kitten poops on anyone! 

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Kelly Bremken
Veterinary Social Worker
Oregon Humane Society
OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-14-2025 07:41 AM
From: Linda Daugherty
Subject: Needs of pets and their families are too big to meet alone

Kelly, thank you for sharing. I would love to hear more about the role of the Community Solutions Manager and how they have been able to build collaborations with community agencies. An animal welfare professional recently shared that trying to build collaborations between animal and human welfare agencies was like navigating the Tower of Babel. Can you share insights on how your organization has been able to bridge the gap?

------------------------------
Linda Daugherty
Associate Director
Program for Pet Health Equity
TN
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 03-14-2025 07:20 AM
From: Kelly Bremken
Subject: Needs of pets and their families are too big to meet alone

Thank you for posting this. It is such an important topic. At the Oregon Humane Society we opened a Community Veterinary Hospital in 2022 that offers discounted veterinary care. It increased access to care for pets in our community but it isn't a magic solution so that all pets have all the care they need. There are still gaps in veterinary services for pets. We are fortunate to have a Community Solutions Manager on staff that helps families apply for grants we know about and helps staff find things we can apply for and use to help clients. And still, for some clients $40 might as well be $4000 and we need partners in our community that offer free wellness and other care outside our model.
And there are other barriers to care, like transportation. We partner with a local Meals on Wheels chapter to utilize their grant funds to keep seniors and pets together. Their funds pay for vet visits and their staff and volunteers help with transportation and bridge some gaps between our staff and their population. It isn't just about their grant funds paying for the care, it is also about our team learning to work with seniors. Those are clients who could not use our services due to lack of transportation or limitations on handling a pet and who would not be able to afford even our discounted prices. 

------------------------------
Kelly Bremken
Veterinary Social Worker
Oregon Humane Society
OR