Guest: Cristie Kamiya is the Chief of Shelter Medicine at Humane Society Silicon Valley. She has worked as a shelter veterinarian in humane societies, municipal shelters, and rescues in the Denver–Boulder areas of Colorado, the greater Phoenix metro area of Arizona, and Northern California. She also completed a 3-year intensive residency-training program in shelter medicine from the University of California-Davis’ School of Veterinary Medicine. In addition to having a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, she also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Colorado State University.

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Main question: How has your organization addressed foster care challenges during COVID-19?

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Takeaways:

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• The pandemic (any new challenge) comes with a silver lining. It provides an opportunity to improve programs and services.

• Veterinary care for foster animals can become more efficient through the use of electronic questionnaires and video consultations – these cut down on in-person visits, save time and enable you to serve more animals and foster caregivers.

• BEFORE seeking a solution, making a plan or asking for more volunteers, be sure to get clear on exactly what you are trying to accomplish.

 

Links:

• Humane Society Silicon Valley

• Webinar on "Scaling High Quality, High Volume Foster Care in Times of Crisis" with Cristie Kamiya

• Recommendation: "Inside the mind of a master procrastinator" - TED Talk by Tim Urban 

 

Recorded Sept. 15, 2020