3 Year Update! Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell

Hi! My name is Sarah Nickerson.  I am Program Coordinator for Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell, and I will be managing this blog, Gimme Shelter.  I am excited to share up to date and in depth information about our shelter medicine program with all of you.  In the past three years, since our last full post, much has changed in the field of shelter medicine and at Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell.  Here are some program highlights from the past 3 years.

Team Growth

We are happy that our team has been growing! Although we said goodbye to Dr. Holly Putnam, who ventured off into other realms of veterinary medicine in early 2017, we welcomed three new staff members to our program. And Dr. Janet Scarlett, though technically retired, still comes in every week to teach us about epidemiology, study design, and other areas of her vast knowledge.  Now I will introduce the new members of our staff, as well as our two current Shelter Medicine Interns.

  • Lena DeTar, DVM, DACVPM, joined MSMP at Cornell as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the summer of 2016. She leads our Intro to Shelter Medicine class and teaches our veterinary and veterinary technician students about optimal shelter medicine practices, while providing veterinary care for animals at our partner shelters, and consultation services to regional animal shelters.
  • Sarah Nickerson came on board in the Fall of 2016 as Program Coordinator to help with communications, website management, donor relations, administrative tasks, and special projects.
  • Erin Henry, VMD, joined us in early 2017 as our Shelter Medicine Instructor. She also teaches in our shelter medicine classes, consults with and provides veterinary care for animals in our partner shelters.
  • Megan Stapleton, DVM, joined us last June after she received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2017 from Ontario Veterinary College in Canada.
  • Meagan Wentworth, BVMS, also joined us last July after attending The Royal School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, UK, where she completed her BVMS in 2017.
  • To see a full list of all of our current program staff, please click here.

Program Growth

We have not only added staff members, we have also added to the learning opportunities and services we offer to students, shelters, and vets! Here are some of our program highlights:

  • Maddie’s Shelter Lab  With the generous support of Maddie’s Fund®, we provide registered 501c-3 organizations with subsidized diagnostic testing for shelter and rescue animals in certain states. This program provides a 50% discount on testing fees and supplies, as well as free shipping labels via USPS Ground
  • Shelter Consultation Services  Our team offers full or targeted on-site consultations. To request an in-shelter consultation, please go to our website and fill out our “Request for Consultation Services” form. Need help with a particular issue quickly? We also offer support for specific shelter-related questions vis email or phone. See our website for more information.
  • Outbreak Response  Outbreaks require fast expert response and diagnostic support. We offer both through our Consultation Hotline and our Maddie’s Shelter Lab services.
  • Fellowship in Shelter Medicine
  • FacebookInstagram
  • Central NY Shelter Forum  Our monthly CNY Shelter Forum on the Cornell University campus provides presentations and discussion of a variety of topics in the field of shelter medicine to local shelter staff, volunteers, and veterinarians. To join the e-list and receive emails regarding upcoming events, please email Vicki Weber at vickiweber2015@gmail.com.
  • New program website!
  • Classes in Shelter Medicine  We now offer 4 classes in shelter medicine every Spring semester: Introduction to Shelter Medicine; Advanced Shelter Medicine; Companion Animal Welfare; and a Clinical Rotation in Shelter Medicine. In the past year alone (Spring 2017-Spring 2018) we have seen a 23% increase in enrollment in our classes. We expect this trend to continue.

To find out more about Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell, please go to our new website at www.sheltermedicine.vet.cornell.edu.

We can’t wait to share more news with you next week!

Cheers,

Sarah

print
Print Friendly, PDF & Email