LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has identified veterinary shortages in 46 states, including Nevada.
Experts say a shortage of veterinarians could be contributing to the Valley’s chronic animal abandonment problem. But now, a local university may have a cure.
“We do have a tremendous shortage of veterinarians, per capita we’re at about half of the veterinarians we need to be,” Christa Stevens tells FOX5.
Steven is the founder and executive director of Hearts Alive Village, a local animal rescue.
“So in Nevada, the estimate is we have between 700 and a thousand vets in the entire state of Nevada. Most of them are concentrated in southern Nevada, however, with those numbers, we’re still below what the national average is, in fact we rank 48th in the nation for veterinarians per capita,” says Jason Roth, the Director of Communications for Roseman University.
University officials highlight how significantly low the numbers are in Nevada. Some fear the issue will only get worse, if something is not done.
“We’re about 400 vets short for our Valley. That’s, that’s quite a lot,” says Stevens. “Some projections now – which have continued to increase – are going to have our country at a 55-thousand veterinarian shortage by the year 2030. That’s terrible and it’s terrifying.”
For most pet owners, that means reduced access to care and steadily rising prices. For others, it means making a difficult choice.
“It does mean that if people cannot access care that there are more animals that end up in the shelter system, or on our streets unfortunately.”
Roseman University hopes to combat the low numbers of veterinarians in the state with a first of its kind opportunity.
“We have focused on creating programs that are in need,” said Roth. “So we started with the very first college of pharmacy in the state of Nevada back in 1999, so we like to do a lot of firsts, or things that are in high demand, and veterinary medicine is one of those.”
Roseman recently announced its plans to open a college of veterinary medicine on its Henderson campus. Earlier this week, it submitted a letter of intent to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Council on Education. It’s the first step in making the college a reality.
“It is going to be quite different for us. We focus on health sciences and professional services for people, and this one obviously is going to be related to animals, who are equally important for public health,” says Roth.
The college is still several years away from reality, but the university’s already looking towards the next generation.
“We’re hoping, as we develop our program, we can inspire local students to seek out going to school for veterinary medicine. It’s a great career, especially for people that love animals.”
And animal advocates say they welcome the help.
“When considering what we’re trying do here in animal welfare, as far as addressing the crisis of animals in our city, we need veterinarians. They are at the core of what’s happening here,” says Stevens. “Home-growing veterinarians would really mean the world to the animal welfare movement and all of the pet lovers here in the Valley.”
Experts say more and more veterinarians are retiring, while fewer new vets are entering the profession. The need is particularly great in rural areas where large animal vets are even harder to find than those treating pets in urban areas.
Roseman’s program is still years away, but the state is already collaborating with the University of Utah to bring qualified vets into Nevada. It’s allocated some $8 million in stipends for veterinary students.
You can visit the Nevada System of Higher Education’s website for more information on how you can apply.
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