Mars Veterinary Health & leaders improve hospital-client relationship

New profession-wide initiative in partnership with AVMA and leading industry groups to help foster positive, productive veterinary team-pet owner interactions announced at 21st annual Banfield Pet Healthcare Industry Summit

VANCOUVER, Wash., September 29, 2022 – Banfield Pet Hospital^® – the nation’s leading provider of preventive veterinary care and part of the Mars Veterinary Health family of practices – today hosted its 21st annual Pet Healthcare Industry Summit, where Mars Veterinary Health announced the formation of an industry-wide working group aimed at strengthening the relationship between veterinary teams and pet owners through resources, education, and collaboration. Banfield has also teamed up with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) to expand access to the association’s online reputation management resources to the entire profession, free of charge. Both initiatives demonstrate the commitment of Mars Veterinary Health and its family of practices to leveraging their size and scale to help create a more sustainable and thriving veterinary profession.

With an industry experiencing multi-faceted workforce issues and a strong demand for veterinary services, veterinary teams are facing unique challenges and pressures – and increasingly finding themselves on the receiving end of client frustration, both in-person and online. These new initiatives aim to foster healthy lines of communication between staff and pet owners to help create the best possible workplace, client experience, and patient care.

“Veterinary teams and clients are connected by a shared love of pets and passion for ensuring they receive the best possible care,” said Doug Drew, president of Mars Veterinary Health. “Our goal is to continue to strengthen the relationship between veterinary teams and clients by addressing the pain points that exist for pet owners, while prioritizing the wellbeing of veterinary professionals. By coming together with leaders across the industry, these new resources will allow us to go upstream to address some of the most pressing issues impacting the profession so that we can continue to deliver on our purpose: A Better World for Pets.”

INDUSTRY-WIDE WORKING GROUP TO CREATE SHARED EXPECTATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN VETERINARY CARE
The working group of leading veterinary industry organizations will convene over the next few months with one key objective: create a list of shared expectations and responsibilities that the profession and pet owners alike can leverage to further a mutual understanding and respect towards one another, all in service of partnering to provide the best possible care to pets. Core members include Mars Veterinary Health and its practices Banfield, BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital, and VCA Animal Hospitals, the AVMA, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA), Not One More Vet (NOMV), Veterinary Hope Foundation (VHF), and Veterinary Medical Association Executives (VMAE). See member quotes below.

To ensure the shared expectations and responsibilities – which will be released in early 2023 – address the concerns and needs of both veterinary teams and clients, the working group will lean on direct input from industry leaders, veterinary professionals, and pet owners. The goal is to foster an environment where each veterinary interaction is rooted in culturally competent care and grounded in a supportive, safe, and inclusive environment for all. 

EXPANDING REPUTATION MANAGEMENT RESOURCES FOR THE PROFESSION
While the shared expectations and responsibilities will provide a general framework to help foster positive and productive veterinary team-client interactions, hospital teams across the profession continue to see a need for additional resources to help address the difficulties of managing online reputation. Today, Banfield announced a new investment towards expanding the AVMA’s Online Reputation Management Toolkit, which will become available in 2023 to all veterinary professionals at no cost. The toolkit will include resources to help veterinary professionals prevent reputationally and psychologically damaging events that typically first occur online but can have real, in-person consequences; respond effectively when they happen; support the physical safety of their practices; and recover reputation in the aftermath of an escalated event.

These resources will also offer support to veterinary professionals and teams as they navigate cyberbullying, which is defined by the Cyberbullying Research Center as: "Willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices." According to a recent survey from the AVMA, nearly 1 in 3 veterinary professionals have been victims or know colleagues who were victims of cyberbullying; further, 43% of survey respondents have considered changing jobs or careers because of cyberbullying; and 63% said these events had the biggest impact on their mental health. When asked how the profession can better provide support, 70% called for the expansion of existing resources to mitigate cyberbullying.

“Reputationally damaging events – which can include cyberbullying – have a critical and lasting impact on veterinary teams and their mental health. Addressing this industry-wide issue requires a dedicated, collaborative effort,” said Dr. Lori Teller, AVMA President. “We are proud to embark on these new initiatives with leaders across the profession to help create and expand resources to ensure veterinary teams and practices have the tools they need to effectively address challenging situations.”

GOING UPSTREAM AT BANFIELD'S PET HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY SUMMIT
These new initiatives are part of Banfield’s larger efforts to take an upstream approach to some of the most pressing issues impacting the profession. At today’s Pet Healthcare Industry Summit, Banfield convened leaders across the veterinary profession – along with changemakers in industries like aviation that are facing similar challenges – to discuss how we can continue to come together to proactively mitigate issues before they develop.

This includes continuing to help destigmatize the topic of mental health and providing free industry-wide resources like Banfield’s “ASK – Assess, Support, Know” suicide prevention training, and strengthening and diversifying the veterinary talent pipeline through programs like Banfield’s NextVet paid internship program, which recently hosted its inaugural class of 15 high-school interns. Following this summer’s program, more than half the students have continued to work with Banfield – including being hired as a Petcare Assistant or joining Banfield’s Youth Advisory Board – and 100% said the program solidified their decision to pursue a career in the veterinary profession.

More information on a livestream or recording of Banfield's Pet Healthcare Industry Summit can be found here.

QUOTES FROM WORKING GROUP MEMBERS
“A number of the veterinary medical colleges that are AAVMC members have outlined rights and responsibilities for clients who visit their on-campus medical centers. No matter how the profession evolves in regard to educational training or the delivery of care, the essential partnership between clients and veterinary professionals must always be grounded in transparency and mutual respect,” said Dr. Makenzie Peterson, Director for Wellbeing at the AAVMC. “We look forward to working with industry leaders who share our commitment to enhance trust and positive communication throughout the entire veterinary profession, setting a clear standard for the experience both clients and veterinary professionals can expect industry-wide.”

“At Banfield, everything we do is in service of our Associates and the profession so that together we can meet the needs of the growing number of pets and the people who love them,” said Mony Iyer, president of Banfield Pet Hospital. “It’s an honor to join with other leading veterinary organizations to help build common ground between clients and hospital teams. Our aim is to increase occupational satisfaction and wellbeing as we continue to provide high-quality veterinary care to millions of pets each year.”

“As one of the largest providers of specialty and emergency care in the world, BluePearl has a responsibility to help drive the profession forward in a way that builds a sustainable future,” said Dr. Nick Nelson, president of BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital. “We are excited to work with the broader veterinary industry to create these shared expectations that the profession and pet owners alike can leverage, allowing us to provide the best possible care to pets when they need it most.”

“NAVTA looks forward to participating in this critical project,” said Ashli Selke, president of NAVTA, RVT, CVT. “Nearly one-third of our Veterinary Technician members have reported being the victim of bullying, cyber and in-person, so this is a very important issue for us.”

“NOMV was founded to transform the status of mental wellness within the veterinary profession so professionals can thrive through education, resources, and support,” said Dr. Brian Bourquin, NOMV Board Member and Chief Medical Officer, Managing Partner at Boston Veterinary Clinic. “We believe this cross-industry effort will help to further our mission, with a new educational resource that aims to foster safer, more positive workspaces for every member of the veterinary practice team.”

"Client relationships make an enormous difference in quality of life for the entire veterinary team,” says Elizabeth Chosa, vice president of Veterinary Hope Foundation. “The best relationships are consistently uplifting and serve as a source of strength on our hardest days, while strained relationships consume our thoughts and erode our wellbeing.  Animal care is also impacted by relationships, as we must work alongside pet owners as a cohesive team to achieve the best possible patient outcomes. It is therefore imperative that leaders in our industry do everything we can to support both veterinarians and pet owners, working together to optimize animal health and foster a sustainable future for the veterinary community.”

“Cyberbullying has become a heavy burden for the industry,” says Tim Atkinson, president of VMAE. “VMAE is happy to partner with Mars Veterinary Health, the AVMA and other stakeholders in supporting veterinary professionals with practical and impactful resources in this area.”

About Mars Veterinary Health
Mars Veterinary Health is a global division within Mars Petcare – more than 70,000 Associates strong – dedicated to delivering high-quality pet healthcare to further its collective Purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. Mars Veterinary Health's network operates more than 2,500 veterinary clinics around the world, putting pets, people, and the planet first. The Mars Veterinary Health network includes Associates at AniCura, Banfield, BluePearl, Linnaeus, Mount Pleasant, VCA, VES, and VSH who demonstrate compassion and expertise by enabling more than 25 million pet visits each year. Learn more at marsveterinary.com. Press seeking additional information are invited to contact [email protected].

About Banfield Pet Hospital^®
Banfield Pet Hospital was founded in Portland, Ore. in 1955 and today is a pioneer in preventive veterinary care with more than 1,000 general veterinary hospitals in 42 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and Mexico. More than 3,600 Banfield veterinarians are committed to providing high-quality veterinary care to over three million pets annually. Banfield collects data from each of these visits in the U.S.'s largest electronic veterinary health records system. Our goal is to be here for pets, people, and society. As part of the Mars Veterinary Health family of practices, Banfield is committed to its purpose — A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS^® — because pets make a better world for us. Press seeking additional information are invited to call the Media Hotline: (888) 355-0595.