As written by the founder herself…
In late 2007/early 2008 I learned about the One Health concept while volunteering at the American Veterinary Medical Foundation- the charitable arm of the American Veterinary Medical Association (the largest national veterinary member organization). I saw many great ideas start at the national level but not really feel real at the local level. Or at least where I live. So I knew I had to make this a reality in my backyard.
I began talking to friends, and Joni Marra noted that there is no one-stop-shopping for veterinary medicine in Northeast Ohio. Very true. That started me on my big, audacious, hairy goal. It began with this phrase:
“To create a sustainable, equitable, low-cost health care system to benefit animals, people, and the environment, as it relates to veterinary medicine.” This system would require a space, so I began to dream of what that would look like.
I envisioned a place that would house research, education, and health care in Northeast Ohio (a little like the relationship between Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals) when I left my cushy job at Case in December 2008. However, instead of a human health focus this place would be an animal-centric campus. Given the powerhouse of human health care systems in Northeast Ohio and the presence of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine only a few hours away, I knew Northeast Ohio was the ideal place to get started.
I drew a plan of what the campus would look like, including the surrounding landscape, and had an architect friend create something that looked more professional for me. Then I asked how much land he thought I’d need (I had no idea about the scale I would need), and how much building something like that would cost.
I knew I had a grand plan, but I had no idea just how grand; if you happen to have ~25 acres and $1 billion, we’ll be able to start right away! Not having either of those, I knew I had to start on a slightly smaller scale and build from there.
Where to start? My idea for the campus and the One Health concept was so vast…I knew that I should either work with an existing non-profit or create my own. It seemed to be such a local thing, so I decided to start my own non-profit in 2008. I also knew it would impact my family and be difficult to get going while still working full time at Case, so began working with career coach Vic Pergola of Decision Point.
I had some seed money to pay lawyer Jeff Consolo of McDonald Hopkins to set it up while I was still working at Case, but I needed a fiscal agent. My friend and colleague Dr. Brian Forsgren was there to help. He founded Project Noah, a veterinary-driven non-profit dedicated to helping animals facing an urgent or emergency situation, and believed enough in me and the grand plan to act as our fiscal agent until we got word from the IRS that we were a bona fide organization.
We received notice in 2009 that we were classified as a 501(c)(3) public charity, effective July 3, 2008.
Meanwhile, my team kept after me to get focus. So I began to ask successful organizations about their successes. I spoke to Dr. Charles Irvin, Director at the Vermont Lung Center who indicated that the way they got started was to have a strong clinical team, and then started out in one particular area of research- asthma. And from there it has grown.
Based on that conversation, I figured we needed a research focus and to build our reputation as a clinical powerhouse in veterinary medicine. That’s when I was finally convinced that I needed to get interested people together to help.
We held a Roundtable Forum January 2010 and decided our research focus should be a zoonotic disease; roundworms. Why? Because it is very common in dogs and cats, it can cause disease in people (such as blindness in children), there is very little awareness that it is a problem (outside the veterinary medical profession), and it is entirely treatable in animals and preventable in people.
Then we needed to decide how we were going to start our work. We decided the most cost effective way to do this was to start with a mobile veterinary medical unit that can conduct the three main areas of work we will perform; basic health care for dogs and cats, education and outreach, and research.
In 2010, Vets on Wheels was born.
The rest of history is still unfolding…
