Newsletter

Sue Miyahara UH Foundation Fund

The Sue Miyahara UH Foundation fund was established in recognition of Sue Miyahara, wife of the late Dr. Allen Miyahara. Dr. Miyahara served as the Vice President to the AVMA in 1995, as well as ran meetings, answered all correspondence, and put together all the educational programs in the early years of the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association and Honolulu Veterinary Society.

As a follow up to the recognition of Sue Miyahara, a fund has been established via the University of Hawaii Foundation. This fund will be exclusively used for the Pre-Vet students at the University of Hawaii. All donations to the UH Foundation are tax-deductible.

For donation checks, please make these payable to:

UH Foundation (Memo: 126-6740-4 Veterinary Research/Extension) and mail/deliver to:

UHM-CTAHR

Attn: Audrey Hirayama

3050 Maile Way, Gilmore 202

Honolulu, HI 96822

In November 2022, Cordell Chang, DVM, gave a presentation at the HVMA annual meeting honoring Dr. Allen and Sue Miyahara. Here is an excerpt from his presentation:

“It’s been 6 years since the passing of Allen Miyahara and his legacy still lives on. In the early years of the HVMA and HVS (Honolulu Veterinary Society), he did it all. He held these organizations together. He ran all the meetings, answered all of the correspondence, and put together all of the educational programs. And back then, he never got paid for doing any of this. He was always a student advocate. Along with Bob Nakamura, they ran the pre-vet program and from then on, more Hawaii students got into veterinary school. During this time, we had many meetings at the Miyahara’s house, and Sue was a very gracious host and fed us well.

In 1995, Allen served as the Vice President to the AVMA. His charge was to be a liaison officer for the AVMA and the veterinary schools. At that time, there were twenty-two veterinary schools. He went to visit eleven schools in one year and the other eleven schools the next. He would take the veterinary faculty out for dinner one night, and the next night he would take the students out only. He even established an 800 phone line, so the students could call him directly. Along all these trips, Sue was the navigator. She packed all the bags and kept Allen focused, so he could deliver his message from the AVMA. Previously, the SCAVMA organization had not been allowed to sit and be a voting member on the AVMA House of Delegates. A year after Allen was the VP, as a result of his recommendation, a Resolution passed allowing SCAVMA students to be represented at the AVMA House of Delegates with full voting rights and privileges.

Allen was a big proponent for the Human Animal Bond and established lectures given overseas. When they traveled internationally, Sue did the same; she kept him on course. She was the quintessential wife that was always in the background, giving her total support to Allen. She was the fuel for the fire.

In recognition of Sue Miyahara, we have established a fund, via the University Foundation. Dr. Odani, UH Veterinary Extension and Pre-Vet advisor, has graciously accepted to be the administrator to these funds. This fund will be exclusively used for the Pre-Vet students and the University of Hawaii. All donations to the UH Foundation will be totally tax deductible.”

AVMA Update – January 2023

Your AVMA continues to advocate for the profession and animal welfare issues. As always, the House of Delegates met during the 2023 Veterinary Leadership Conference in balmy Chicago. We had a busy agenda and lively discussion. Keep reading to discover important resources available to you, our members, and find out what we made progress on this January!

If you aren’t already a member, consider joining over 100,000 veterinarians and gain access to valuable benefits. Some recent highlights of what AVMA has been doing for YOU:

AVMA has new and updated resources available for reputation management for your practice.

Be an industry leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Practices are encouraged to join Journey for Teams, an interactive program to educate and engage your workplace to make it a safer space for all. Get involved at journeyforteams.org

In the next newsletter we’ll take a deeper dive into what your AVMA has to offer. In the meantime, here are the updates from the winter meeting.

Veterinary Information Forum topics:

Every meeting, members of the AVMA House of Delegates meet to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing our profession. AVMA members shared their thoughts on the following topics:

Utilization of credentialed veterinary technicians and the creation of a “mid-level practitioner” role: It is no secret that we are facing serious workforce shortages. What is the best way to reduce burnout and better meet increased demand for our services? This topic generated over 160 pages worth of responses from constituents! While some favor the creation of a “Veterinary Professional Assistant” who could diagnose, prognose, prescribe, recommend treatment plans, and perform minor surgery, most members feel we are still underutilizing the skills of credentialed veterinary technicians and the focus should be there first. Creating a new position within the profession presents some significant challenges including:

The need to develop educational programs to train these individuals. Accredited institutions are already having trouble filling teaching positions for veterinary and veterinary technician programs
The need for changes to be made in federal laws and regulations as well as those in all 50 states

In short, implementing such a solution will be costly and could not be deployed in time to address the immediate workforce shortage.

We also had a lively discussion regarding workplace culture and how to improve quality of life for veterinary team members. A recurring theme was the need for leaders to set an example and demonstrate that it’s OK to ask for help. Practical suggestions included the use of Employee Assistance Programs (larger employers and some state VMAs already offer these as a member benefit) or providing access to free counseling to struggling veterinary professionals. There are many relevant AVMA resources available, including the Workplace Wellbeing Certificate program, the Brave Space Certificate program, the Train the Trainer program and Journey for Teams (diversity, equity, and inclusion training for your workplace). These resources are available to members at avma.org. Watch for more details about these programs in the next newsletter.

AVMA business and policy actions:

Several resolutions came before the House for a vote, touching on a variety of topics ranging from policy on dog bite prevention, service animals, horse racing, responsible breeding, dehorning and castration of cattle. Most were housekeeping and minor updates to existing AVMA policies.

Of interest was a new policy on so-called “bush track racing,” or unregulated horse racing, which presents grave animal welfare and public safety threats. Bush tracks operate with no veterinary oversight. Practices include the use of stimulants, electric shock and other abuses. Bush track operations have been linked to outbreaks of piroplasmosis (via use of contaminated needles to inject performance enhancing drugs) and equine infectious anemia. The HOD passed a resolution condemning unregulated horse racing. This is hopefully a first step in creating pressure to make unlicensed horse racing illegal. You can learn more about this issue at https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/05/bush-track-horse-racing-georgia/

With aloha,
Carolyn Naun, Hawaii Delegate
Jenee Odani, Hawaii Alternate Delegate

One Health Month

Governor Green has declared January 2023 as Hawai’i One Health Month! #OneHealth represents the intersection of human health, animal health, and environmental health, and helps us address complex health problems in Hawaii and beyond. See the proclamation here.

Awareness of the One Health approach helps to inform our decision-making, particularly for policy makers and leaders seeking to comprehensively address current issues such as climate change and emerging infectious diseases like COVID-19 or avian influenza. Thinking about how human health is inextricably related to animal health and environmental health also informs our individual everyday decisions: our food choices, the products we buy, appropriate use of antibiotics or other medications, how we care for the native species and habitats we live near, etc.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is a recent example of a zoonotic disease that can pass from humans to animals and vice versa, causing illness and death in multiple species. The more humans encroach on wild habitats and interact with non-domesticated animal species, the more opportunities there are for viruses or other infectious organisms to spread and mutate into forms that can cause global pandemics. But zoonotic disease spread is just one example of the interplay between human, animal, and environmental health. Other important examples include how the use of pesticides has decimated bee populations, which in turn decreased pollination, crop yields, and human food supply; or how medication prescribed in human and veterinary medicine can pass through their patients to enter the environment and cause developmental deformities in wildlife and drug-resistant infections; or how lead shot used in hunting has resulted in lead toxicity in scavenging animals such as birds of prey and humans alike.

One Health concepts have been a part of many veterinary curricula and may seem obvious to veterinarians, but many of our colleagues in other health and science disciplines were not trained to think outside of their specific fields. Keep the One Health perspective in mind, and encourage others to do the same!

Conservation Corner: Hawaiian green sea turtles

While there are several species of marine turtles that can be found in Hawai’i , the most common is the honu, or the Hawaiian green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). Basking, or resting on the beach or at the water surface, is a behavior unique to this species in Hawai’i that is thought to have a thermoregulatory function. The green sea turtles that are found in Hawai’i are currently listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The good news is that this population is showing some signs of improvement, and nesting is increasing at 3-5% per year. There is a lot that the species still has to contend with in order to be recovered, especially with sea level rise and storms affecting their low-lying nesting grounds: 96% of the population nests at one location, Lalo (French Frigate Shoals) which is located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and part of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Other threats to our honu include fisheries interactions, disease, and boat strikes. When turtles and fisheries interact, it is often the line, not the hook, that is most dangerous for the turtle: the line can cause strangulating injuries to the flippers and line ingestion can lead to GI obstruction. Prevention is always best, so if you enjoy fishing, please dispose of your line properly to keep it out of the marine environment and pick up discarded line anytime you see it. NOAA Fisheries’ FAST (Fishing Around Seals and Turtles) guidelines also say that if you accidentally hook a sea turtle, it is okay to reel it in, cut the line as close to the hook as possible, and release the turtle – IF you feel safe doing so.

As veterinarians, you can also help sea turtles by being knowledgeable about what to do if you are contacted or come across wild turtles that are in trouble. First, pause before taking any immediate veterinary action. Dead turtles or those that are entangled, hooked, injured, or appear sick, should be immediately reported to the Hawaiʻi statewide NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline at (888) 256-9840. Call this number and wait for a return call for further guidance. If you observe illegal activity, such as harassment or illegal fishing/gear, send photos or video (including contact information of the suspected perpetrators) to RespectWildlife@noaa.gov and the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (the DLNRTip app is a rapid and effective way of filing such reports, or you can contact DLNR at (808) 643-DLNR).

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