MMPC Learniverse - Shelter Med LIVE - Worth the Rounds: How This Daily Practice Saves Time and Improves Care (On Demand)

Jennifer Bennett joined the Koret Shelter Medicine Program as the new Director of Shelter Medicine Access to Care in late 2024. She is a 2008 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine and soon after she began practicing in her hometown regions of rural Northern California. She spent 5 years in small animal, emergency and farm animal medicine before joining Lake County Animal Care & Control as its first Medical Director in 2013. After realizing the life-saving impact that a shelter veterinarian can have on a community, she has remained dedicated to the field of shelter medicine. She has worked with a wide variety of municipal and private organizations, developing shelter medicine and surgery programs, consulting with humane organizations, participating in community outreach clinics, and working with large-scale humane law enforcement seizures and legal cases. Dr. Bennett most recently served as the Medical Director for the City of Seattle from 2017-2022 and the Chief Veterinary Officer for the Humane Society of Tacoma & Pierce County from 2022-2024. She served on the California HOD, the Washington State VMA, and was WSVMA President from 2021-2022, and has been serving on the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee since 2023. Dr. Bennett is passionate about supporting and mentoring shelter veterinarians and students, creating low barrier access to care programs, and identifying and removing bottlenecks in shelter programs to improve capacity for care.

Dr. Karsten became board certified in Shelter Medicine Practice in November, 2017. Her main areas of interest include teaching and mentoring undergraduate and veterinary students, working with shelter leaders on change management, and providing accessible, affordable veterinary care to everyone who seeks it.

Throughout her KSMP career, Dr. Karsten has helped to identify and implement best practice protocols and capacity for care models at shelters across the United States and Canada.

She also continues to work to understand her role and that of animal shelters in increasing awareness of social justice issues and implementing policies to bring about equity.

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Dr. Hedge, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, DABVP is Vice President of Shelter Medicine and Chief Medical Officer at San Diego Humane Society, where she leads medical operations across a large multi campus system and oversees shelter hospitals, community medicine programs, veterinary education, and outreach initiatives. A board certified specialist in both Shelter Medicine and Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Dr. [Name] brings more than a decade of experience advancing high quality, accessible care for animals and communities through innovative shelter programs, HQHVSN surgery, community cat initiatives, and student training.

She previously served as Assistant Professor of Shelter Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences, where she built an affordable care teaching clinic from the ground up and helped develop graduate shelter medicine training programs. Her career also includes completing one of the first three year shelter medicine residencies in partnership with Oregon Humane Society and Oregon State University, along with extensive work in community based veterinary outreach through organizations such as Rural Area Veterinary Services and the ASPCA.

Dr. Hedge holds a DVM with Honors Distinction, an MPH from the University of Minnesota, and is currently pursuing an MS in Veterinary Forensic Science at the University of Florida. Her professional focus centers on population health, community centered care, education, and building sustainable shelter medicine systems that improve outcomes for animals while supporting the people who care for them.