Category: From the President

Letter from the President – Summer 2025

Heather Kihara, DVM
HVMA President

Aloha HVMA members! 

I can’t believe that we are half way through 2025 already! The PetExpo was a resounding success thanks to all of you, Dr. Lissa Kam, her wonderful staff at Ohana Vet Clinic, and her new extended ohana, Veterinary Solutions Inc! Just a few weeks ago, our wonderful AVMA delegates, Dr. Jenee Odani and Dr. Carolyn Naun, represented us at the AVMA convention in Washington DC and helped lobby for important animal welfare changes and discussed important topics like the Veterinary Practice Act Model. We are now looking forward to our HVMA convention in November and trying to find ways to make it better than ever! We will be trying another venue and hope that you will join us for our amazing speakers, wetlabs, and social events at the zoo! 

As a volunteer organization, I like to thank every member for your passion and helping to advance veterinary medicine and animal welfare in Hawai’i! If you would like to see any changes that HVMA can help with, please let us! Please keep in touch with us via email, facebook, or instagram! 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Heather Kihara

Letter from the President – Winter 2025

Heather Kihara, DVM
HVMA President

Aloha HVMA members! 

Happy New Year & Kung Hei Fat Choy! Coming into 2025, I’m very excited to lead us into the next two years! Our past president, Dr. Jenee Odani has done a wonderful job and I can only hope to carry on her excellent work and continue to build momentum for our Hawai’i vet community.

Jenee will continue to be on the board as the past president, alternate AVMA delegate, friend and mentor. In fact, the broad range of expertise of the veterinarians on the board is quite impressive! From our executive VP, zoo vet Dr. Jill Yoshicedo to our newest island representatives Drs. Raquel Wong, Gabrielle Asay, and Melissa Shaw, we not only represent small animal medicine but government, industry, small/large/exotic/aquatic/zoo animal medicine, holistic & rehab medicine, specialty, and of course small business owners.

Each newsletter we feature a board member along with any news both locally and nationally from AVMA and highlights of important events. Yet we continue to try to add to our breadth to make sure everyone is represented! Please consider joining the board! We are actively looking for outer island delegates and we will always accept help on committees. As a volunteer organization, I like to think that every member is passionate about advancing veterinary medicine and animal welfare in Hawai’i! Please encourage your fellow vets to join HVMA and let’s do good!

Letter from the President – Fall 2024

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Aloha, fellow veterinarians!

We are coming up to one of my favorite times of the year: the annual HVMA Conference! And this year, we’ll be enjoying a new venue: the Hawaii Convention Center! In addition to the great CE sessions that have been organized, the conference also represents a time where we can see old friends and meet new members of our veterinary community. If you haven’t yet registered, please do so! And if you have already registered, please encourage other veterinarians that you work with to register as well! Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary staff are all welcome!

As our organization and the profession continue to evolve, please let us know what directions you’d like to see us take or discuss issues that are important to you with us. Your island representatives and board members are here to listen. There are many opportunities for participation on our committees if you’d like to increase your level of involvement as well.

Lastly, after the conference, I’ll be stepping down as President. Serving in that role been one of the greatest honors of my career. We have much work ahead of us for our organization and our profession, and I look forward to working alongside our new President, Heather Kihara, in the coming years!

With deepest gratitude,
Jenee

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Letter from the President – Summer 2024

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Aloha, everyone! I hope this message finds you well in these final days of summer! Like many of you, I have had the pleasure of seeing students who I’ve mentored apply to veterinary school and start their journey toward becoming veterinarians. I always take a moment to relive certain moments of my path, like the stress of typing applications (the days before we had personal computers) and the unbelievable joy when I got my letter of acceptance.

You may have noticed that there have been a number of new veterinary programs that have been established throughout the US. This is good news for the profession as it makes vet school more accessible to potential applicants and, therefore, will ensure that there are enough new graduates to fulfill the need for veterinary services. It does make me wonder whether Hawaii could start thinking about starting a 2+2 program in conjunction with one of our WICHE PSEP partners or another existing veterinary school. I’m curious to hear what your views on this are, and hopefully, we can start having some real conversations about this over the next few years. 

The rest of this newsletter contains information about our upcoming conference, annual business meeting, and other activities. If you would like to get involved with any of the committees, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Letter from the President – April 2024

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Aloha everyone! I hope you are all content and well this Spring! The 2023 Honesty and Ethics Gallup Poll was recently published, and I was pleased to see that veterinarians hold the 2nd highest approval rating amongst professionals. This is in part due to the perception the public has that veterinarians are compassionate and dedicated to helping animals and their owners. The Pet Expo is a perfect example of this, so please volunteer a few hours of your time to support this free public event! 

HVMA has been closely watching the Non-Veterinary Surgical Bills (SB 2562 and HB 1527). The current House and Senate versions are slightly different and will go back to committee for final revisions prior to approval. We are lucky to have Senator Tim Richards, DVM in the State Legislature, and he will advocate for the best language to close the current loophole allowing owners to perform surgery on their animals, whilst allowing livestock producers to continue to perform customary husbandry procedures. 

Dairy cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Idaho, North Carolina, and South Dakota have been found to be infected with avian influenza virus Type A H5N1. This is the same virus that causes Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in birds; however, the disease in cattle is not characterized by high morbidity and mortality.  It is important to note that pasteurization of milk kills pathogens in milk, including the influenza virus, so there is no threat to human health from milk and dairy products. This virus has not been detected in Hawaii, but farms containing multiple species such as poultry, swine, or cattle should continue to strengthen their biosecurity programs to prevent the introduction or spread of disease. The Center for Food Security and Public Health has excellent resources for developing a biosecurity program for various species.

See you at the Pet Expo! 

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

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

Letter from the President – October 2023

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Aloha fellow veterinarians!

We are coming up to one of my favorite times of the year: the annual HVMA Conference!

Apart from the great CE sessions that have been organized, the conference also represents a time where we can see old friends and meet new members of our veterinary community. If you haven’t yet registered, please do so! And if you have already registered, please encourage other veterinarians that you work with to register as well. Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary staff are all welcome!

As our organization and the profession continue to evolve, please let us know what directions you’d like to see us take, or feel free to discuss issues that are important to you with us. Your island representatives and board members are here to listen. There are many opportunities for participation on our committees if you’d like to increase your level of involvement as well.

One thing that the recent wildfire tragedies on Maui have shown us was how quickly veterinarians are willing to stand up to help animals in need and each other. So many of you have volunteered your time and donated supplies and funds to help efforts on the ground; I struggle to find the words to adequately describe the collective greatness you have shown. Going forward, however, we need evaluate what we have learned and find ways to improve our statewide emergency readiness. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months!

Hope to see you all soon!

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Letter from the President – August 2023

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

I hope this message finds you well in these final days of summer. Your HVMA’s executive board has been busy planning for the upcoming annual meeting, staying on top of animal health issues, and coordinating the veterinary emergency response to the recent wildfire disaster on Maui.

We are heartbroken by the devastation of Lahaina and fire impact elsewhere on Maui and the Big Island. Please check our website or join our FaceBook group to learn how you can help our local veterinary disaster response.

In the last issue of the newsletter, I wrote about needing to be vigilant in the face of emerging disease threats. Earlier this month, thanks to vigilance exhibited by colleagues on the frontline, we have also seen the first detections of canine influenza virus in Hawaii, a disease we had managed to evade despite its presence in the mainland US since 2015.

I am grateful for how our veterinary community is able to come together in times like these to share information and help each other best serve the animals that we are responsible for. I believe we will learn from these experiences and improve our ability to communicate with each other and respond to emerging threats and emergencies. 

In the rest of this newsletter, you will find information about these topics, our upcoming conference, annual business meeting, and other activities. If you would like to get involved with any of the committees, please reach out to us!

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Letter from the President – May 2023

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Happy Spring everyone!

We are thrilled to be able to bring the HVMA’s Hawaii Pet Expo back this year, May 6-7th at the Blaisdell Center. Thank you to everyone who showed up and volunteered your time.  This public event is a valuable opportunity for us (as Hawaii veterinarians) to provide quality animal care & health information and promote the good work that all of us do.

With the Covid-19 pandemic receding, and we adjust to the “new normal” we must remain vigilant as there are continual threats from other emerging diseases, such as African Swine Fever and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. Hawaii remains free from the H5N1 avian influenza virus, but we must remain vigilant in reporting cases of unusual mortalities in wild or domestic birds. Spillover of the virus into mammalian species is concerning and something to continue to monitor.

As always, please reach out to contact@hawaiivetmed.org with any feedback, questions, or suggestions.

With much aloha,
Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Letter from the President – January 2023

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Aloha Everyone! Hau‵oli Makahiki Hou!

Firstly, let me start by saying how excited and honored I am to be serving as your HVMA president. Together with the amazing individuals comprising our hard-working board, I hope to help guide our organization through the next two years as we adapt to the “new normal” after nearly three years.

Our 69th annual conference was held in-person this year, and it was a wonderful time for our veterinary community to come together in the spirit of learning and growing.

As a veterinary medical organization, HVMA strives to continue to grow and adapt to the needs of our members. Over the next few months, we will monitor the state legislative session, review applications for the HVMA scholarship, and grow our mentorship program for recent graduates. If you are interested in participating, please let us know! New volunteers are always welcomed!

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President