When I last addressed readers of Today’s Veterinary Business, an “outbreak” of the “novel coronavirus” was underway. Trupanion was asking its Seattle employees to work from home as a precaution, Cornell University preemptively forbade large events, forcing the cancellation of the Student American Veterinary Medical Association symposium, and the parent AVMA was inviting people to register for its summer convention in San Diego.
That was early March. And now, as you all know, the world changed in a hurry. “COVID” replaced “coronavirus” in everyday conversation, the “outbreak” became a “pandemic,” tens of thousands of Americans died from the disease, we learned a whole lot about PPE, PPP and CARES, the handoff of veterinary patients took place in parking lots, and the AVMA canceled its convention.
Wow.
The cover story in this issue of Today’s Veterinary Business asks, “What now?” Rather than telling you what I think, I’ll let the real experts do the talking, or in this case, the writing.
Starting on the cover, Drs. Peter Weinstein and Karen E. Felsted break down nine “tectonic shifts” caused by COVID-19 and what veterinary professionals can do to shore up their businesses. On page 19, Dr. Jessica Vogelsang tells anyone late to the telemedicine party how to get started.
And there’s so much more. Dr. Lori Kogan writes about fighting pathogens in the clinic laundry room, Paul Gladysz about controlling pathogens through smart hospital design, and Leslie A. Mamalis about COVID-19’s impact on hospital valuations. The pandemic also comes up in columns by Peter H. Tanella, Drs. Adam Little and Aaron Massecar, Eric D. Garcia, Dr. Natalie Marks, Dr. Amanda L. Donnelly, Dr. Bob Lester, Mark Cushing, Kellie G. Olah, Sandy Walsh, Abby Suiter, Mark Opperman, Brian Conrad, and Sarah Rumple.
None of the articles are repetitive. Each writer delivers a unique perspective from where they work in the veterinary profession. I hope you find words of wisdom in each article.
Thankfully, as Drs. Weinstein and Felsted optimistically conclude, “We will survive.”