Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread drug shortages are currently impacting all healthcare providers, including animal shelters and nonprofit veterinary clinics. Those shortages are likely to worsen. What does your organization need to know?
On May 27, renowned anesthesiologist and pain management specialist Dr. Sheilah Robertson spoke to Florida shelters and nonprofit clinics. She laid out how they can navigate current and anticipated drug shortages during this time of COVID-19, provided tips on how to stay agile and plan ahead, and shared information about drugs that have had their “use by” dates extended.
While she acknowledged the ability of shelters and nonprofit clinics to innovate and “MacGyver” solutions to tough problems, Dr. Robertson cautioned that planning is the single most important step shelters and clinics can take to continue to operate during the crisis and its aftermath.
In the video recording of Dr. Robertson’s presentation below, you’ll learn what your organization needs to know to provide spay/neuter and veterinary care in a time of COVID.
Additional Resources
- Dr. Robertson’s slides
- Assessing Analgesia Equivalence and Appetite Following Alfaxalone- Or Ketamine-Based Injectable Anesthesia for Feline Castration as an Example of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery
- Use of Single-Dose Oral Gabapentin to Attenuate Fear Responses in Cage-Trap Confined Community Cats: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Field Trial
- Medetomidine suppliers in the U.S.
- Tiletamine-zolazepam/Medetomidine/Butorphanol [TMB] Combination for Cats
- Trazodone as a mediator of transitional stress in a shelter: Effects on illness, length of stay, andoutcome
- COVID-19 Spay/Neuter and Wellness Clinic Preparedness Guide
About the Presenter
Dr. Sheilah Robertson, BVMS (Hons), PhD, DECVAA, DACAW, DECAWBM (WSEL), CVA, MRCVS, received her veterinary training at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Following graduation, she spent a year as a surgery intern followed by training in anesthesia and a PhD at the University of Bristol.
Dr. Robertson has been a faculty member at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Canada, the University of Florida, and Michigan State University. She spent two years as an Assistant Director in the Animal Welfare Division at the American Veterinary Medical Association.
In 2014 Dr. Robertson received her Maddie’s Graduate Certificate in Shelter Medicine from the University of Florida. She was a member of the Association of Shelter Veterinarian’s Task Force to Advance Spay-Neuter, is a member of the American Association or Feline Practitioners (AAFP) welfare committee, was a member of the Feline Nursing guidelines committee, and co-chaired the 2018 feline anesthesia guidelines task force.
Dr. Robertson also co-authored the AAFP/American Animal Hospital Association Pain Management Guidelines for cats and dogs in 2015. She is currently serving as the Medical Director for Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice.