Mission Statement 

"The objective of the New Haven County Veterinary Medical Association is to advance the practice of veterinary medicine, promote the profession and encourage the understanding and appreciation of the importance of the unique bond between humans and animals. We do this by providing a forum for continuing education and the discussion of topics that are important to the practice of veterinary medicine. In addition, we recognize the importance of open communication and the sharing of ideas amongst fellow practitioners and therefore seek to provide opportunities for our membership to gather together to encourage camaraderie."

 

The New Haven County Veterinary Medical Association, Inc. (NHCVMA) formed in 2008. The previous year, Ken Aldrich, Director of the New Haven Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine, noticed both the activity of other county veterinary medical associations in Connecticut and the lack of opportunity for area veterinarians to communicate with each other. He reached out and found support from Dr. Don Mullen (Guilford Veterinary Hospital), Adnan Cosar (Ridgehill Animal Hospital) and Dominick Sannino (Novartis).

 

The group organized an initial meeting to gauge the interest level of area veterinarians. That meeting occurred at the Peabody Museum on March 19, 2008 and featured Dr. Emily Rothstein speaking about Atophy and Allergic Dermatitis. The veterinary community showed strong support for the concept with over 80 attendees. Those present also gave their feedback on preferred topics, meeting times, days, etc which provided the guide for the NHCVMA’s lectures through 2010.

 

The association became official in 2009 after registering with the state and federal government and the IRS granted the organization as a tax-exempt 501(c)(6) organization on December 6, 2009. These filing were completed with the assistance of  the veterinary accounting firm of Burzenski & Co. and the legal firm of Weiner, Mantell & Fornes. A group volunteered to become the first Board of Directors including Dr. Don Mullen, Dr. Kimberly McClure, Dr. Ann Davis, Dr. Melissa Carroll, Dr. Sarah Murray, Adnan Cosar and Ken Aldrich. It also was supported by volunteers including Dr. Sandra Wu, Lisa Wiecki and Kathy Cavanagh.

 

The Board is intent on establishing an organization that will exist for years to come and thus far has immense support from our members. At each meeting through September 2009, more than 70 members have attended and our November 2009 meeting drew over 100 members! In addition, the Board has limited the number of meeting per year to 4 or 5 in order to provide the highest quality speakers and locations.