HERE IS THE UPDATE I RECEIVED TODAY:
I am very grateful to all of you who have signed the petition asking the VA Tech Vet School to have faculty involved on a daily basis for all patients.
I regret to say that after seventeen weeks, over 17,000 signatures, and three offers made to the Vet School to share what changes they are making, I have had no response. I turned to a source with contacts inside the vet school, who obtained the following distressing information:
The faculty have been told to talk with the client – if the client requests it.
Clients and referring veterinarians will not be allowed to choose between a chief resident and a member of the faculty.
The evening and weekend emergency service will continue to be staffed by interns, who can ask for help if they think they need it.
You can see more detailed information about all of this and more on the petition page: http://www.change.org/petitions/virginia-tech-stop-letting-vet-school-residents-practice-without-faculty-supervision-2
Since the effort at persuasion has failed, the best thing I can do for the people who live in the VA Tech service area is to ask you to help me create and share a list of alternative resources. I have already researched 24/7 emergency facilities and the closest vet schools and will post that information soon as a petition news update.
Can you help me identify board certified veterinary specialists either practicing independently or in multi-specialty groups? I am looking for those in Virginia and West Virginia, as well as the surrounding states: Maryland, Delaware, DC, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina. You can reach me through Change.org, but it may be easier to use an e-mail account that I have set up just for this purpose: LeeHenkel01@gmail.com.
In advance, thanks for any help you can give.
