One Health

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  • 1.  One Health Is a Practice, Not a Month

    Posted 9 days ago

    As January's One Health Month comes to a close, it offers a meaningful moment to reflect on the power of collaboration across professions to improve the health of people, pets, and the communities we share.

    At the Program for Pet Health Equity, we see every day how interprofessional partnerships-among veterinarians, public health professionals, social workers, human health providers, animal welfare leaders, and community organizations-are essential to supporting pet families. Barriers to veterinary care are rarely isolated pet issues; they are deeply connected to housing stability, access to transportation, financial security, public health infrastructure, and social services. Addressing these challenges requires systems that work together, not in silos.

    A One Health approach allows us to better serve families by recognizing the human–animal bond as a public good and by designing community-based solutions that reflect real-world needs. When professionals share knowledge, align goals, and coordinate services, we strengthen not only animal health outcomes, but also family well-being, community resilience, and public health preparedness.

    As we move beyond One Health Month, I invite you to carry this momentum forward by strengthening local partnerships that support pet families and communities. Seek out opportunities to collaborate across veterinary, human health, social services, housing, and animal welfare systems. Share data, align referral pathways, and advocate for policies that recognize access to veterinary care and the human–animal bond as essential components of community health. By working together at the local level, we can continue building more equitable, resilient One Health Systems that improve outcomes for both people and pets.

    Thank you for the work you do-and for being part of the One Health community.
    ------------------------------
    Michael J Blackwell, DVM, MPH, FNAP
    Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS (Ret.)
    Director, Program for Pet Health Equity
    Center for Behavioral Health Research
    https://pphe.utk.edu
    -----------------------------

    References & Further Reading

    · One Health Commission – What Is One Health? https://www.onehealthcommission.org/en/why_one_health/what_is_one_health/

    · CDC – One Health Basics https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/basics/index.html

    · World Health Organization – One Health https://www.who.int/teams/one-health

    · American Veterinary Medical Association – One Health Initiative https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/one-health

    · Program for Pet Health Equity (PPHE) https://pphe.utk.edu/



  • 2.  RE: One Health Is a Practice, Not a Month

    Posted 8 days ago

    Thank you, Dr. @Michael Blackwell, for this timely and grounded reflection on what One Health looks like in practice.

    One Health. Pets and people in the park

    Today's challenges-climate-related disasters, housing instability, workforce shortages, rising costs of care, and widening inequities-are placing increasing strain on pet families and the systems meant to support them. These pressures do not exist in isolation. They compound one another, affecting human health, animal health, and community resilience simultaneously. No single profession or sector can address these challenges alone.

    Your message underscores why coming together across disciplines is not aspirational-it is essential. When veterinarians, public health professionals, social services, housing partners, and community organizations align their efforts, we are better equipped to anticipate challenges, prevent crises, and respond effectively when needs arise. Collaboration allows us to share responsibility, pool expertise, and design solutions that reflect the realities families face.

    As we move beyond One Health Month, this is an opportunity to recommit to working collectively in the face of complex and evolving challenges. By strengthening partnerships, breaking down silos, and centering equity in our systems, we can build One Health approaches that are resilient enough to meet today's needs and adaptable enough to face what lies ahead-together.

    One Health happy family and their dog


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    T' Fisher, Director of Operations
    Program for Pet Health Equity
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: One Health Is a Practice, Not a Month

    Posted 7 days ago

    Clear and brilliant as always. At The Inner Pup, we have shifted from our origins, which were to address a single problem, to now supporting families and broadly helping at-risk pet owners in a One Health direction. The single focus provided a way in to build connections and relationships. We discovered that families at risk have a constellation of ongoing needs, and if they cannot afford their pets' retail veterinary care, they cannot afford their own care. One Health is a natural evolution for us. I could go on and on, but here I am preaching to the choir, so thank you, @Michael Blackwell, for being ahead of the game and very much in the center of it! 



    ------------------------------
    genie goldring
    VP
    The Inner Pup
    LA
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: One Health Is a Practice, Not a Month

    Posted 3 days ago

    Hello Genie.

    The Inner Pup is doing great work for some of the most vulnerable families.



    ------------------------------
    Michael J Blackwell, DVM, MPH, FNAP
    Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS (Ret.)
    Director, Program for Pet Health Equity
    Center for Behavioral Health Research
    https://pphe.utk.edu
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: One Health Is a Practice, Not a Month

    Posted 2 days ago

    We're moving fast, working furiously, doing everything we can but the need is always bigger than us. That's just the truth. We stay in our lane, focused on what we do best, but we don't exist in a vacuum. What happens out there in housing, in healthcare, in education, in justice shapes everything we do.

    There's still this idea that animal welfare can be separated from people, from the families those pets belong to. But you can't pull the human out of the equation. It doesn't work. Not in real life. The value of a pet's life is tangled up with the stability of the household it lives in. You can't treat the dog and ignore the chaos around the person holding the leash.

    People think animal welfare begins and ends with the shelter. Build more, they say, as if square footage alone could solve anything. But the more you build, the faster they fill. That's not a solution. That's a cycle.

    I still remember when shelters were where families went to find their lost pets, not to leave them behind, sick and scared, and surrendered at the door.  Every life deserves dignity. At the very least, basic care. 

    We all deserve more than what we're being handed, and we all need to continue fighting for the dogs, for the people, for the bond between them, because it's all one story.



    ------------------------------
    genie goldring
    VP
    The Inner Pup
    LA
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: One Health Is a Practice, Not a Month

    Posted 2 days ago

    We had a huge loss in our community this weekend, the decision announced by our LASPCA to drastically reduce the number of days the public will be able to bring animals to the shelter. This safety net failure represents a huge failure for people and pets. I posted this, a true statement of what community responsibility means to people and pets. 

    II am speaking, not as co-founder and full-time volunteer at The Inner Pup, but as Genie, a concerned member of the community of people and animals in New Orleans. May I ask you, PLEASE SHARE THIS IF IT RESONATES WITH YOU.
    I am profoundly disappointed to learn that the LASPCA is reducing its intake days, a devastating blow to a community that relies on this single shelter to serve all of Orleans Parish. It's not just a policy change. It's a rupture in the safety net.
    But even in the face of this painful new reality, I want to speak to something bigger. And I ask everyone affected by these policies to join me in committing to community responsibility. For our city's pets. And for the people who love them.
    The Inner Pup is doing everything we can. But the need is always bigger than us. We stay in our lane, focused on what we do best but we don't exist in a vacuum. What happens in housing, healthcare, education, and justice all shapes the lives of the people we serve.
    There's a persistent idea that animal welfare is separate from human welfare. But that's not how life works. The health and dignity of a pet is directly tied to the health and dignity of its family. When the family is in crisis, the pet is too. People think animal welfare starts and ends at the shelter door, that if we just build more shelters, we can fix it.
    But the truth is, the more you build, the faster they fill. That's not a solution, it's a cycle.
    I remember when I was growing up, when shelters were where families went to find their lost pets, not to surrender them sick, broken, and afraid.
    Every life deserves dignity. At the very least, the relief of basic care. No animal should suffer simply because their person is struggling. No family should have to choose between love and survival. We all deserve more than what we're being handed.
    And we all have a role to play in demanding better. So please, let's keep showing up for the dogs, for the people, for the bond between them, because it's all ONE STORY. We all have something we can do, the question we all need to ask ourselves is "what is my something,"


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    genie goldring
    VP
    The Inner Pup
    LA
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


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