State/Territory
Ohio
Shortage Location - Must Serve
Columbiana, Mahoning, Carroll, Stark and Tuscarawas Counties
Shortage Location - May Serve
Holmes and Jefferson Counties
Location Center
State Route 39 & State Route 43, Carrollton, OH 44615
VSGP Status
Open
VMLRP Status
(Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program)
Open
Priority of shortage
Moderate
Fiscal year
Percent FTE
(Full Time Equivalent, based on a 40hr work week.)
30
Type of Shortage
(Veterinary Practice Area / Discipline / Specialty)
Type II Shortage: Private Practice – Rural Area Food Animal Medicine
Must serve
Beef Cattle
Other Must Serve
May serve
Dairy Cattle
Swine
Poultry
Small Ruminant
Other May Serve
Cervid/Equine
Employer
Position Title
Other disciplinary area
Carry Over
Nominator Name
Kristy Shaw
Nominator Title
Assistant State Veterinarian
Nominator Org
Ohio Department of Agriculture
Nominator Email
Nominator Phone
614-507-5223
Importance/Objectives of Veterinarian
There is a pressing need for early disease detection and protection of animal health in order to maintain the economic importance of agriculture to this eastern Ohio community. Using data from USDA NASS, the nominated area has approximately 114,000 cattle. According to the Ohio VMA data, this large area is currently being served by 7 food animal veterinarians and 5 mixed animal veterinarians. This area is 2497 square miles. USDA NASS data from 2020 shows there are 5591 farms in this five county area. There is significant movement of livestock in this region with markets in each of Carroll, Columbiana, and Tuscarawas Counties, and also nearby in Holmes county. Diverse livestock species are represented here and horses are used for work and transportation as well as for pleasure and show.
Veterinarian Medical Activities & Services
This veterinarian would most likely join or be retained within a large animal or mixed animal practice to provide preventative, diagnostic, treatment and surgical services to food animal producers as well as caring for small animals. This would include herd health, consultation on vaccination, nutrition, facility design, and client education. In addition to direct animal care, the veterinarian would serve as a source of information on herd health, be an early identifier of potential zoonotic diseases and foreign animal diseases (FAD), serve as an educator to 4-H and FFA members as well as the public, and contribute to the community. The veterinarian would be an advocate for agriculture to the consuming and interested public. Another aspect is the need to be USDA Category II accredited for involvement in state and federal disease programs (TB, Brucellosis, CWD, Scrapie, etc.) and for purposes of livestock movement across the nearby state border and livestock markets in the area. Involvement with client education and animal disease traceability program (ADT), drug residue prevention, veterinary feed directive also allow additional opportunities for service. Veterinarians in this area are very likely to work with multiple species on a regular basis.
Historical Efforts of Recruiting/Retaining a Veterinarian
This area of eastern Ohio has been previously nominated as a VMLRP shortage situation with multiple applicants each time, which demonstrates both the willingness and need of practitioners to serve this area. Loan repayment can help a practitioner become established or retained in this community. The pull of higher salaries and more flexible schedules in nearby urban areas is a threat to retention here, debt repayment can balance that. Veterinarians in this area regularly accept student externs to educate and familiarize the next generation of veterinarians for recruiting and educational purposes. There are more mixed animal practices than exclusive large animal practices in this area and more practitioners could balance the workload for all. Retention of younger veterinarians in this area may be just as or more important than recruitment.
Consequences of Not Securing/Retaining a Veterinarian
Because of the number of animal markets in this region (4) as well as being near the Ohio border, veterinarians are needed to monitor animal movement, be vigilant for diseases, and serve the local and state agricultural community. Because these markets are a gathering point for commingling of animals they must be well served both with on site market veterinarians but also by field veterinarians in the surrounding region that supply these markets. Producer education and improving animal health directly contributes to food safety in this region as animals are raised and processed for personal use as well as entering the broader food supply. Veterinarians in this area are aging and increasingly busy trying to serve the growing animal numbers. This contributes to stress on the community and on the veterinarians themselves. Veterinarians serving in this area are often some of the most well educated and trusted resources that many members of the public and animal owners will meet. These relationships are vital not only for animal health but for their positive impact on public health.
Community Aspects
This rural area boasts good schools and recreational opportunities while being near to metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Wheeling, and Pittsburg as well as smaller towns of Canton and Akron. This area offers very reasonable cost of living while being close to many amenities from the larger cities including dining, sporting events, arts, and airports. Many outdoor activities are available such as trails, fishing, hunting and hiking. Veterinarians in this area are valued members of their community and trusted leaders in many respects. Ohio ranks 17th in agricultural income and among the top 11 states in the nation for eggs, turkeys, horses, swine, dairy, sheep and goats.