VIDA Veterinary Program Improvements
February 28th, 2012 is World Spay Day! This holiday was created by The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International in order to "shine a spotlight on spay/neuter as a proven means of saving animals' lives." VIDA is happy to announce that during 2011, we were able to spay and neuter 2,508 animals in our field clinics in Central America! This could not have been done without the help of our volunteers, staff and sponsors. We would like to extend a special thanks to everyone who made this possible!
Photo by Christine Gordon
We are also excited to announce that as of March 1st, 2012, VIDA will be implementing changes to its veterinary program for nonprofessional veterinary volunteers, as well as advanced veterinary students. Creating the perfect combination of factors in order to make our field clinics a positive experience for our volunteers and patients has been an evolving process since VIDA was founded in 2008.
With the help of our veterinary staff throughout Central America, as well as assistance from independent veterinarians in the United States, we have updated the protocols for our field clinics. These changes will guarantee increased patient and volunteer safety as well as our compliance with the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association-Field Services Guidelines. This will include high quality pain management protocols, increased continuity of care post-operatively and the ethical participation of volunteers in surgical procedures.
Photo by Katsy Meza
Also beginning in March 2012, we will implement the incorporation of the following materials/equipment to increase a better patient environment:
Masks
Disposible surgical drapes for each animal and each surgical table
Sterile surgical gloves for surgery.
Surgical Caps
If you would like to donate these or any other veterinary materials, please send us an e-mail to
[email protected] for more information.
The surgical experience will consist of a one on one interactive shadowing experience with licensed bilingual veterinary professionals from the host country as VIDA is now in compliance with the AVMA and AVS regarding student surgical experiences. There will be an increased focus on documentation of the surgery, monitoring of the patient, and patient recovery.
For a complete description and requirements for our program, please visit our Veterinary Program on our website.
Meet Dr. Faran Dometz!
Dr. Faran Dometz is part of our Veterinary Team in Nicaragua. He graduated with a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the National University of Nicaragua two years ago, at which time he began working with VIDA. Together with a panel of veterinarians from Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala, Dr. Dometz helped revise our veterinary protocols in order to improve our program.
In a recent interview regarding the changes that will be implemented by VIDA, Dr. Dometz stated that "VIDA is a growing organization and I feel that this is a positive change that will be of great improvement in the quality we give our patients. Veterinary Medicine is always changing and standards of care keep getting higher and higher. We are going to start by ensuring our compliance with international regulations for spay/neuter clinics. I think it's going to raise the quality of services we provide our patients, through our professionals and volunteers."
One important change that Dr. Dometz mentioned is that VIDA will no longer be using the McKee Technique for surgeries, which uses a zip tie instead of a suture when doing canine spays. When asked why VIDA made this change, he explained that "VIDA reviewed the current research avaible, but decided that there was no long term data supporting the use of the zip tie technique. Because of this, we decided to use absorbable suture material for our patients, which will also be a benefit to the volunteers, as this is the technique that they will use in the university, as well as when they become veterinary professionals."
Dr. Dometz will be training and supervising VIDA's veterinary professionals in all of Central America in order to guarantee that the protocols are being executed properly. This will help the quality of care of the animals, create higher standards of care and reduce the complications during surgery.
The Veterinary Program will also increase the follow up care, which means that the veterinarian in charge of each clinic must call the patients' owner between 24-48 hours after surgery to ask questions about the animal. If necessary, VIDA will refer patients to local collaborating veterinarians, who will provide sustainable care in the communities..
Dr. Dometz finished his interview by stating that "The program has greatly improved and our volunteers will benefit from these changes. I would like to invite future volunteers to travel to Central America to visit us and get hands-on experience in the Veterinary Field".
