AVMF offers grants to hurricane victims

SCHAUMBURG, ILL. — Veterinarians impacted by this year's hurricanes are eligible for $2,000 humanitarian grants from the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF).

The 2005 Hurricane Relief for Veterinarians grant is the second direct-to-DVM aid program offered by AVMF, an aid organization tied to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), and recently was adopted during emergency session. The goal is to help "restore the veterinary infrastructure" of areas along the Gulf Coast and across Florida, AVMF officials say. Veterinarians also can receive $2,000 in reimbursement from AVMF for costs associated with care of animal disaster victims.

The humanitarian gift is available to veterinarians who have experienced personal or business losses due to the storms.

"This shows our members that their parent organization, the AVMA, really cares for them," AVMA President Dr. Henry Childers says.

At presstime, the American Veterinary Medical Association offered no clear numbers of practitioners impacted.

"We've heard that there's a lot of veterinarians who need help over the hump," AVMF Chairman Dr. Tracy Rhodes says.

The grants will come from the $1 million-plus donated to AVMF for disaster relief. That fund largely is used to support Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams, which work with the federal government on emergency relief for animals. Rhodes adds that while AVMF can't predict how many veterinarians will apply for the $2,000 gift, more assistance might become available depending on numbers of requests. "If we get 1,500 people applying, we're going to run out of money in a hurry. If not, we might have more to give," he says.

Rhodes advises veterinarians in need to contact their state associations' executive directors, who are charged with assisting applicants. Information outlining the guidelines for requesting funds is available at www.avmf.org.