CVC celebrates debut East Coast conference

BALTIMORE — Advanstar Veterinary Healthcare Communications (AVHC) offered veterinarians more than 450 continuing-education credit hours at its inaugural CVC East in Baltimore.

More than 3,000 veterinarians, students, guests and exhibitors attended the meeting.

"We're very pleased with the response from attendees and exhibitors alike," says Becky Turner Chapman, AVHC's vice president/general manager. "They took a leap of faith with us as we brought the strength of CVC Central to Baltimore for the first time."

Advanstar Communications is the parent company of DVM Newsmagazine.

A Gallup Organization survey, commissioned by Advanstar, performed an extensive evaluation in 2004 of how, when and where veterinarians want to pursue continuing education (CE). The results directed the company to develop two additional conferences to better accommodate practitioners. Hence the tag line, "Education when you need it, where you need it."

DVM Newsmaker Forum

The conference hosted a multitude of scientific and management sessions, including the debut DVM Newsmaker Summit on the five most pressing issues facing veterinary medicine.

Panelists included leaders in private veterinary practice, specialty practice, associations, academia and government.

The event was moderated by Washington attorney Kerry M. Richard, JD, of Tobin, O-Connor, Ewing and Richard.

Panelists included:

• Dr. Lonnie King, director of Office of Strategy and Innovation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; dean Michigan State University;

• Dr. Bonnie Beaver, past-president of the American Veterinary Medical Association;

• Dr. Jack O. Walther, Las Vegas practitioner and former president of AVMA;

• Dr. Joan Hendricks, dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine;

• Dr. Gary I. Block, an internal medicine specialist from Coventry, R.I.;

• David M. Lane, practitioner/consultant from Carbondale, Ill.

CVC Central in Kansas City is slated for Aug. 26-29, and CVC West will debut in San Diego Oct. 27-30.