Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets joins forces with AVMF

Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets has teamed up with the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) to help expand the AVMF Reaching Every Animal with Charitable Care (REACH) program. This program provides grants to American Veterinary Medical Association members in the veterinary field who offer immediate care at a low or no cost to pets with owners experiencing financial limitations.

According to a company release,¹ for each purchase made on Purina Pro Plan's VetDirect website from January 15, 2023 through June 30, 2023, Purina will donate $1 to the AVMF to support the REACH program. The company will contribute up to $200,000, so veterinarians don't have to make the difficult decision between their patients and their practice.

Financial hardship was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, however this has been a problem for some time. In a survey of veterinarians published in JAVMA in 2017, 77% of respondents reported that the economic limitations of clients (regardless of whether those limitations were by choice or necessity) were either a moderate or primary contributor to their level of professional burnout.²

"Over the past several years, many veterinary practitioners have been riding a roller coaster of emotional and operational challenges in their practices, between working through a global pandemic, staffing challenges, and—most recently— inflationary pressures making it harder for clients to make ends meet," noted David Granstrom, DVM, PhD, DACVM (Parasitology), assistant executive director at AVMF, in the release. "The goal of the AVMF REACH program is to remove some of the difficult decisions practitioners must make when a client can't afford lifesaving care for their pet. Thanks to the donation from Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets, more of their answers can be 'yes' instead of 'no.'"¹

"Veterinarians today face so many challenges, from working extra-long hours to providing quality care for their patients to keeping their own staff members motivated. We believe this program not only honors the calling of veterinarians but will also directly alleviate some of the everyday stress practitioners feel as they make decisions regarding patient care," stated Jason Gagné, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition), director of veterinary technical communications for Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets.¹

The REACH program has plans to expand eligibility criteria to go further than helping underserved clients affected by COVID-19, disaster relief, and domestic violence to those with more general financial needs.

References

1. Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets announces partnership with AVMF to support veterinarians. News release. Purina. Purina Pro Plan. January 26, 2023. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets-announces-partnership-with-avmf-to-support-veterinarians-301731206.html
2. Kipperman BS, Kass PH, Rishniw M. Factors that influence small animal veterinarians' opinions and actions regarding cost of care and effects of economic limitations on patient care and outcome and professional career satisfaction and burnout. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2017;250(7):785-794. doi: 10.2460/javma.250.7.785.