Letter from the President – January 2024

2023 HVMA Hui
70th Annual Business Meeting

As I write this message, the new year is just beginning, and I find that it’s a time for reflection on the past and looking forward to new accomplishments in the future. The HVMA annual conference last November was a success thanks to the hard work of Dr. Yoshicedo and the conference committee. The dance party after the Saturday dinner was so much fun! 

The HVMA has a busy year planned for 2024. We will be tracking animal-related bills this legislative session and will share more information in the next few weeks. We are also going to continue disaster planning with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. Later this year, we will be electing new officers to the board, so if you are interested or have a great nominee in mind, please let us know!

Please renew your membership early this year and encourage your colleagues to join as well. The benefits of HVMA membership can be found here. Please share the HVMA scholarship application with any current veterinary students that you know. 

In closing, I hope that 2024 sees that you and your loved ones have new happiness, new goals, and new achievements! 

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Notice of 70th Annual Business Meeting

The Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association’s Annual Business Meeting (HVMA Hui) will be held on Saturday November 11, 2023 from 12-1pm at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel Prince Jonah Room. All veterinarians are welcome to attend, though only active members are permitted to vote. You do not need to be a conference attendee to come to the Hui.



The Bylaws Committee has proposed a change to Article 3, Section 3, regarding Special Meetings. This section currently reads:

“Special meetings may be called by the Chairman or by any three Members of the Board by submission of written notice to each Member of the Board at least fifteen days prior to each meeting.  A majority of the Executive Board shall constitute a Quorum for the transaction of business.”

To allow for more timely response to emergency situations and acknowledge technological advances in modes of communication, the proposal is to change Article 3, Section 3 to read:

“Special meetings may be called by the Chairman or by any three Members of the Board by submission of uniform written notice, including electronic communication, to each Member of the Board at least 24 hours prior to each meeting.  A majority of the Executive Board shall constitute a Quorum for the transaction of business.”

70th Annual Conference – Registration Open!

This year the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association’s 70th annual conference will be held in-person from November 9-12th, 2023 in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel.

We are welcoming back our colleagues from Japan for the first time since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic shut down international travel. In addition to Japanese-translated sessions, we will have hands-on laboratories on orthopedic surgery, point of care ultrasound, and successful CPR techniques.

Lecture topics include ophthalmology, neurology, dentistry, emergency and critical care, swine and ruminant medicine and surgery, business, and wellbeing.

HVMA will also hold our 70th Annual Business meeting on Saturday, November 11, 2023 at 12pm. This meeting is open to active HVMA members as well as any interested veterinarians in Hawaii.

Please check here for conference schedule, lab information, and accommodation information. Registration is now open; we hope you will join us this fall!

Recover CPR Lab at HVMA

When an arrest happens, are you and your team prepared??
Get certified in RECOVER CPR at the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association Conference on Thursday November 9, 2023.
You’ll learn all of the concepts of effective CPR:
Rapid Diagnosis
Chest Compressions
Ventilation
Drugs and Defibrillation

Hands on and interactive! Become more confident, competent, and connected with your team!
Register Now!

LEARN BY DOING!
Hands on practice of chest compressions and ventilation.
Pull it all together with high fidelity simulators with pulses, heart / lung sounds, and more.

Pre-registration is required! Sign up today!

Thursday November 9
8.00 AM-10.00 AM Basic Life Support Group 1
10.15 AM – 12.15 PM Basic Life Support Group 2
1.15 PM – 5:15 PM Advanced Life Support

Join us at the HVMA Conference in Honolulu!

Board Nominations 2022

The HVMA Annual Business Meeting will be held on Saturday November 12 from 12-1pm at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel in the Prince Jonah Room. Even if you are unable to attend the conference, all HVMA members and interested veterinarians are welcome to attend the business meeting. This year elections for board positions will also be held.

Our current slate of board nominees are as follows:
President-elect: Heather Kihara
Vice-President: Malia Lyons
Secretary: Jamie Furutani
Treasurer: Caren Tamura-Taira
AVMA delegate: Carolyn Naun
AVMA alternate delegate: Jenee Odani
Maui County delegate: Leo Murakami
Hawaii County delegate: Jacob Head
Executive Vice-President: Jill Yoshicedo

Other nominations may also be made at the Annual Business Meeting. If you are interested in serving on the board or on any of our committees, please speak to any current board member. We would love to have your participation!

ByLaws Amendment Proposal

The ByLaws Committee has proposed a change to Article 1, Section 1, regarding Active Members. This section currently reads:

Section 1.  Active Members. An Active Member shall be a graduate of a college or school of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association and shall reside in the State of Hawaii.

To align with current Hawaii veterinary licensing requirements of the Hawaii Board of Veterinary Medicine (recently updated with the passage of SB2798 CD 1 in 2022), the proposal is to change Article 1, Section 1 to read:

Section 1. Active Members. An Active Member shall be a graduate of a veterinary college meeting all the standards established by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education or a foreign college of veterinary medicine who has successfully completed the requirements established by the American Veterinary Medical Association Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates or the American Association of Veterinary State Boards Program for the Assessment of
Veterinary Education Equivalence, and shall reside in the State of Hawaii.


The ByLaws amendment will be voted on at the Annual Business Meeting on Nov 12, 2022.

Letter from the President – October 2022

Alfred Mina, DVM
HVMA President

Aloha Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well and ready for Fall and the Holiday Season because it’s coming up shortly. We are so excited to have the upcoming in-person HVMA Annual meeting scheduled for November 2022. We are planning on having great speakers from different disciplines to share their knowledge with us, and wet labs for our veterinarians and support staff. It seems like we’re still facing professional staffing shortages in the islands, causing limited services to the communities in certain areas. Hopefully the rest of 2022 gets better as we continue to stay healthy, vigilantly safe, and happy.

Thank you to those who continue to support HVMA. A lot of this is done through membership dues. If you haven’t renewed your membership yet, please feel free to do so here.

Please don’t forget to check in on our online CE provided by HVMA. Let us know if there’s any specific topics that we can investigate for future presentations. Please continue to stay safe and hope to see you all soon!

Aloha from Big Island,
Alfred J. Mina, DVM
HVMA President

2020 HVMA Conference Cancelled

Dear HVMA Members,

Thank you so much for your positive feedback and support for our annual conference. We sincerely want to meet your expectations and provide the same quality CE and warm fellowship that we have in the past. We regret that we have decided to cancel our 2020 Annual Conference (November 12th-15th) due to multiple factors relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, including limited capacity in our exhibit hall and lecture rooms to accommodate physical distancing requirements, increased risk of spreading SARS-CoV-2 in an indoor convention involving many people from outside of Hawaii, and the unknowns of the COVID-19 situation in the fall.

HVMA will hold our Annual Business Meeting virtually on November 14, 2020, and will also be offering monthly CE webinars starting in July 2020. We will be planning to hold our next full in-person Annual Conference during November 11-14, 2021 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Please let us know if you have any suggestions for virtual CE topics or other ways the HVMA can support you. May you, your veterinary teams, and your families stay well and safe during these challenging times.

Aloha,
Your HVMA Board

Conference Registration Open

Registration is open for our 66th Annual HVMA Conference, which will be held from November 7-10, 2019 at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel. We are again offering over 80 hours of RACE-approved CE (up to 27 credits for vets and 16 credits for vet techs) and bringing in world-renowned speakers covering a variety of topics including cardiology, oncology, sports medicine, equine medicine, soft tissue surgery, infectious disease, exotics, essential oils, wellness, the opioid crisis, and emergency & critical care.

Our wet lab offerings include orthopedic labs by Brian Beale and Don Hulse, a small diameter endoscopy lab by Carrie Palm and Sean Hulsebosch, dental radiograph positioning and interpretation labs by Kevin Stepaniuk, and a laser lab by Yukiko Kuwahara.

During the conference, we will hold our annual HVMA Hui on Saturday November 9 at 12:00pm during lunch. You do not need to be a conference attendee to come to the meeting. During the meeting, we will provide an update on what the HVMA has been doing this past year as well as overview any important legislative and island news. If you are interested in sharing anything during this time, please email us.

Also on Saturday November 9 from 6-8pm we will be hosting our annual social cocktail party. Tickets to this event are $60 or complimentary with full conference registration.

Register online for early bird pricing by September 15th. Remember to log in to your HVMA online account to register at the reduced member rates. If you have forgotten to renew your membership for 2019, it’s not too late! We hope you and your staff can join us!

2018-2020 Officer Nomination Slate

HVMA Board
President-Elect: Alfred Mina
Vice Pres: Tim Falls
Secretary: Jenee Odani
Treasurer: Brenda Smith
Executive Vice President: Jill Yoshicedo
Maui County Delegate (1): Leo Murakami

Hawaii County Delegates (2): Jacob Head, open

AVMA House of Delegates

Hawaii Delegate: Leianne Lee Loy

Hawaii Alternate Delegate: Carolyn Naun

We will be holding elections during the annual business meeting on Saturday, November 10 at 12:15pm at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel, 3rd floor, Prince Jonah Room. Installation of officers will be held on Sunday, November 11 at 12:15pm at the same location. You do not need to be a conference attendee to attend these meetings. Please join us!