Hi Amie and all,
We are feeling the squeeze here in Ithaca, NY, with all of those Rochester emergencies coming our way for several months now. This has extended triage times for animals at Cornell's emergency room and my work whenever they need an emergency "shelter med" consultation. As a "daytime" shelter vet, I strongly recommend 1) creating emergency treatment and evaluation protocols that your rescue's medical staff can use when these kittens are sick. (Daytime or Nighttime) These protocols are designed and approved by your veterinarian of record, and might include taking a temp, a blood glucose, running a parvo snap, giving fluids, warming with an incubator or warmies, giving a dose of antibiotics, etc. Once nursed through the night with supportive care, the kitten could be seen by a vet in the morning. This process would also go hand in hand with clear euthanasia protocols (stop points), and getting folks at your shelter euthanasia certified if not already. It will be important to create a reasonable schedule for any person on the medical team who would be "on call" for foster parents after hours, and trading off :on call" in a way that fosters can always reliably reach someone (eg. passing a phone around)
2) Creating a foster training process that emphasizes the importance of bringing kittens in for seemingly minor issues (diarrhea, not eating, losing weight) *during daytime hours* to prevent the need for emergency treatment later. This is an extremely efficient and welfare-enhancing way to prevent kitten emergencies. Create the culture that no issue is too small, that every kitten gets weighed daily, and enjoy the healthy kitten rechecks. This foster care culture is paired with top-notch intake preventive protocols such as thorough intake and regular deworming, vaccination, and ectoparasite control, and staff-implementable (vet approved) protocols for common issues such as diarrhea and weight loss.
3) Reaching out to veterinarians in your community to see what services might be on offer. This could include training for your foster parents (practice giving SQ fluids!) and shelter tours to try to increase vet engagement. Would a few of them be willing to occasionally be on call for the shelter? If not, would their technicians be willing to help? Familiarity with your premise grants a VCPR in the same way that large animal vets have VCPRs with dairies and farms- not individual animals, allowing for a greater telemedicine leeway in shelter med-- at least in NY State!
Best of luck and let us know how it goes,
Lena
------------------------------
Lena DeTar
Cornell University
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 10-23-2023 07:06 PM
From: Amie Zwecker
Subject: Limited Access to Emergency Veterinary Care
Hi,
I manage a cat rescue in Rochester, NY. Recently, we learned that the emergency hospital is going to be permanently closing in a few weeks. They have already restricted their hours greatly. This is very concerning to all rescuers - we see the worst cases that often need emergency care.
The closing of our emergency hospital is putting a lot of pressure on hospitals in neighboring cities such as Buffalo and Syracuse. Those hospitals are even referring patients to Ohio and Pennsylvania. Quite frankly, I'm terrified. If we have an emergency happen with one of our fosters overnight, I keep thinking "what will we do?" We also have to worry about what to do if our fosters need immediate help when no one is receiving patients locally.
Have any of you been in a similar position? How do you navigate not having access to veterinary care after hours? Do you have partnerships with vets in your area that you can call after hours for emergencies? How do you not panic in these situations? Lastly, if you know your foster isn't doing great and needs immediate care but won't make it to the emergency vet that's hours away, what do you do? This is my biggest fear. I don't want a foster to suffer.
#Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization
------------------------------
Amie Zwecker
Co-Founder
Right Meow Rescue, Roc. Corp
NY
------------------------------