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I received the following message from Nancy Hill, Regional Director of SCRAPS:

Currently, there is no system in place to provide emergency veterinary care in the event of a disaster. For example – the November windstorm in Spokane County caused over 200,000 people to lose power and emergency shelters were opened. For the first time in the history of Spokane County that included a co-located shelter – people and animals. One of the challenges that came up was veterinary care. Some of the animals sheltered needed veterinary care – yet there was no funding for it. These animals were brought in by low income displaced citizens with pre-existing veterinary issues that had not been treated due to economic challenges. Other animals developed some stress related symptoms while in the shelter.

We would like to meet with the IEVMA to discuss their involvement in providing emergency veterinary care in the event of a disaster when emergency animal shelters are opened to house public owned animals – particularly in the co-located shelters.

With the above issues in mind, what should be the role of the IEVMA in an emergency situation? What guidelines for financial support of members who administer treatment during a disaster would you recommend? What oversight or limits on patient selection and degree of treatment are needed? I would appreciate your comments and suggestions and hope this new forum will be a valuable tool is getting more input from members. We will be meeting with SCRAPS and perhaps some of the organizations responsible for emergency response in the next few months.