'Gettingdoctorsis very difficult': Why veterinarians in CT are under pressure

Aug. 7—In one examining room Michael looked after a black Lab puppy with an ear infection. In another room Dr. Mark Albin looked over an x-ray of a dog with a tumor as Michael shuttled to another treatment room to draw blood from a kitten with a 105-degree fever. Only then could Michael begin to return phone calls.

Five years after Michael acquired Powder Ridge, her practice is booming, as pet ownership has increased along with rising expectations for veterinary care by customers. While new clinics are helping to meet the growing demand, many practices that are not as well-staffed as Powder Ridge are struggling to keep up, a predicament exacerbated by a widespread shortage of veterinary professionals. At the same time, the need for more veterinarians has highlighted the lack of nearby graduate programs for students in Connecticut who aspire to join the profession.

Increasingly, veterinarians are worrying not just about sick dogs and cats, but the mental health of their own staff who work long hours under stressful conditions. In coming years, there will be a critical need for thousands more veterinarians, as demand grows and retirements increase.

"There's been increased demand in the field, and getting doctors is very difficult," Michael said in an interview at Powder Ridge. "I think it's important for pet owners to understand that when their veterinarian is telling them that they can't accommodate them, it's not that they don't want to, it's that they don't have the time or the staff to accommodate them."

'Not enough to go around'

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In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, acquiring a four-legged companion became attractive for many people who were spending more time at home or looking for a way to alleviate the stress of the global health crisis.

Even before the pandemic, there were already signs of increasing pet ownership. Data presented at an American Veterinary Medical Association summit in 2019 predicted a 33 percent increase in spending on pet health care during the next 10 years.

Alongside the growing contingent of pet owners, many clients are demanding more from veterinarians.

"In a lot of instances, these owners care more about their animals than their own family members," Michael said. "So their desire for their pets to get the same level, or, in a lot of instances, better care than what their human family members get, I think, has really increased the demand, especially in the northeast."

Reflecting the uptick in demand, Powder Ridge recently hired another doctor and three support staff members. Being an independent practice helps Powder Ridge land new recruits, Michael said. But the hiring process is still not easy, especially in the wake of many veterinary professionals retiring or taking jobs in other fields in the past few years.

"There simply are not enough veterinarians and veterinary technicians to go around. This is a national problem that definitely affects us in Connecticut," Albin, who is a past president of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association, said in an interview. "I know that for our hospital, when we interview a doctor or technician, we are competing with sometimes 10 to 20 other hospitals for their services. Many hospitals are left to hire relief veterinarians to fill in shifts that need coverage."

At the same time, there is the challenge of making sure staff do not burn out. In Powder Ridge's approximately 4,000-square-foot building at 375 Baileyville Road, the practice's team of 30 people sees an average of about 40 to 50 patients per day.

"The staff are in at 8 a.m., they have appointments starting at 9 a.m., and I can pretty much always guarantee that they're out by 6 p.m.," Michael said of Powder Ridge's weekday schedule, which is supplemented by a shorter schedule on Saturdays. "We really try to schedule ourselves appropriately so they can have their life outside work and that work-life balance and be there for dinner with their families. That's very important."

Mental health is a concern given veterinary professionals' risk factors. Female veterinarians were 3.5 times as likely, and male veterinarians were 2.1 times as likely, to die from suicide as the general population, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published in 2018.

"When Blaire and I graduated from veterinary school, I don't think suicide was a concern of ours," Albin said. "When we talk to veterinary students or kids who want to become veterinarians, that's part of a frank conversation nowadays. They have to know what they're getting into."

New options for pet care

While the growing demand has strained many veterinary practices, it has also generated opportunities for new establishments. Among the newcomers in Connecticut are BondVet, which opened in May a clinic in downtown Westport, marking its first location in Connecticut.

After opening its first clinic in 2019 in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., BondVet has expanded since then to 39 locations, all of which it owns and operates. Its services include urgent care that does not require a visit to an animal hospital; routine care such as wellness exams, vaccines and spay/neuter services; as well as surgeries, dental cleanings and international health certificates.

"Bond Vet has been smart about finding locations where we can we support already well-established veterinary communities," Dr. Nicole Peta, who practices at the Westport clinic, said in an interview. "It's really nice when you have a community of educated clients who are advocates for their pets."

Among the pet owners who have visited the new clinic is Stacey King, who recently moved to Norwalk and previously took her six-year-old pit-terrier mix, Shoshana, to Bond Vet locations in New York City when she was living in the Five Boroughs.

"I was looking for a local vet, and I saw that they opened, so it was good timing," King said in an interview. "They take the time to explain everything to me, so I fully understand their plan of action, and I feel looped in. I also like that they show me what everything costs, like a line item, in the exam room."

After the opening of the Westport clinic, which occupies approximately 3,100 square feet in a building that formerly housed a Freshii fast-casual restaurant, Bond Vet is already planning to expand in Connecticut. In May, it gained approval from Fairfield's Town Plan and Zoning Commission for a clinic at 1968 Black Rock Turnpike.

Among other upcoming openings, Westport's Planning and Zoning Commission approved last month a Kind Pet clinic. The center is set to take space in a building on Post Road that formerly housed a Men's Wearhouse store.

Developing the next generation of veterinarians

In 2019, there were an estimated 116,000 veterinarians in the U.S., of which about 60 percent were estimated to be companion-animal practices. Assuming spending on pet health care increases by 33 percent in the coming years, nearly 23,000 additional companion-animal veterinarians would be needed by 2030, according to a study commissioned by Mars Veterinary Health. In addition, about 18,000 veterinarians would be needed during the same period to cover expected retirements.

In Connecticut, the absence of an accredited veterinary college contributes to the limited number of veterinary professionals. (Albin and Michael, respectively, graduated from the veterinary colleges at Auburn University and the University of Pennsylvania.)

If a veterinary college were to be created in Connecticut, Albin said that one option that could alleviate the state's financial burden is a co-op model. He cited the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, which receives funding from those two states. In return, the college admits every year 50 students from Virginia and 30 students from Maryland.

"The possibility of a co-op school in New England could involve as few as two states and as many as six," Albin said. "States that participate would provide funding for the school and be guaranteed that a number of their residents would be admitted per class, based on their contribution. As a shared venture, each state's financial commitment would be less than if anyone took on the task by themselves. And a very important benefit of keeping veterinary students from Connecticut and other parts of New England in the region for school is an increased chance of them remaining in the area to practice upon graduation."

Even without a veterinary college in their home state, many college students in Connecticut are preparing for careers in veterinary medicine. At the University of Connecticut, which has on-campus animal facilities, the Department of Animal Science serves as the main pathway for aspiring veterinarians. Last fall, 432 students were majoring in animal science at UConn.

Graduates of UConn and other colleges and universities in Connecticut may move on to four-year programs at one of the approximately 30 accredited veterinary colleges or schools in the U.S., including just four schools in the Northeast.

In 2022, there were a total of 10,811 applicants for 4,755 seats at member institutions of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges.

"The admissions for veterinary schools are very competitive, but we provide students excellent advising, so they're as prepared as possible for that process," Cindy Tian, the interim head of UConn's Department of Animal Science, said in an interview.

Regardless of the veterinary colleges they attend, Connecticut residents face significant costs since they either have to pay out-of-state tuition rates at public veterinary schools, unless they establish residency in those states, or attend even more expensive private veterinary schools. In 2023, the median tuition at U.S. veterinary colleges totaled $55,158 for non-residents and $34,289 for residents, according to the veterinary colleges association.

As for undergraduate programming, potentially increasing enrollment in UConn's Department of Animal Science would be less straightforward than in other disciplines because of its focus on hands-on learning, which requires close faculty supervision.

"We have high demand, but we can only accommodate so many students because of capacity considerations," Tian said. "We have to make sure that we're always providing a quality education."