MMPC - Learniverse: Navigating Access to Care: Veterinarian Roles and Goals Inside and Outside the Shelter (On Demand)
Recorded On: 02/18/2026
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Webinar Overview
Access to care looks different depending on where—and how—you practice. In this episode, we center the veterinarian’s role across settings inside the shelter and out, unpacking how veterinarians balance medical priorities and operational realities, while partnering with pet owners, community organizations, and other practitioners. We’ll explore the real-world impact of community clinics and high-volume surgery on shelter medicine—and how these services should shape access-to-care strategy moving forward.
Learning Objectives:
- Define the roles veterinarians have in providing access to care and how the goals of veterinary practice differ in various contexts inside and outside the animal shelter environment. Discuss the concept of “gold standard” care and how this definition is being redefined through the access to care movement.
- Discuss the impact of invested partners in the access to care pathway and how to navigate differing goals for an animal’s care which may vary from involved veterinarians and shelter medicine teams. Review how adhering to capacity for care best practices impacts the care a veterinarian is able to deliver in their environment.
- Review what access to care means to veterinarians practicing inside and outside the shelter, their role in pathway planning, and how the veterinarian’s ability to support animal care differs before and after the animal enters the shelter environment.
Continuing Education Credits
This webinar has been approved for 1 hour of Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) and by the National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA).
This course has been approved for 1 hour of RACE continuing education credit until 12/31/27 in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval. Upon completing the course and passing the quiz, upload your certificate to https://CEBroker.com. This is the broker used by the AAVSB to track your continuing education credits.
Keywords
MMPC, Shelter Learniverse, KSMP Shelter Learniverse, shelter medicine, access to care, community veterinary medicine, capacity for care, high-volume spay/neuter, best practices
Contact
Email us at help@shelterlearniverse.com if you have any questions or concerns about this webinar.
Maddie’s® Pet Forum Discussion Thread
You can also join the discussion about these concepts over on Maddie's Pet Forum in the discussion thread. CLICK HERE
Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge
With the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge, the Five Key Initiatives of the Million Cat Challenge have expanded to include other species at risk in shelters and evolved into the Four Rights.
Within the Four Rights, every element works in concert to support one another: animals and people are treated as individuals, empowering shelter staff to make the best decisions for everyone; community safety net services are in place and flourishing; and humane care within the shelter is provided, with appropriate outcomes for the animals that do come in, allowing shelters to deliver the Right Care, in the Right Place, at the Right Time, and to the Right Outcome
Learn more about Maddie's® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse. #ThankstoMaddie
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LockedDr. Jennifer Bennett
Director of Shelter Medicine and Access to Care
UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program
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. Charlotte Burns, DVM, CVA
Owner/Veterinarian at Mendocino Animal Hospital and HQHVSN Provider in Mendocino County and Mexico
Charlottee Burns is the owner of and a veterinarian at Mendocino Animal Hospital. She has been a long-term provider of high-volume spay/neuter and community clinic services throughout Mendocino and Lake County through municipal animal shelters, mobile clinics, and various animal welfare organizations in California and Mexico. Her emphasis is on providing holistic animal care for her community and accessible options for all clients.
Dr. Jean Goh
Medical Director
Animal Fix Clinic
Jean Goh is the Medical Director of Animal Fix Clinic. Previously, she worked in emergency and urgent care medicine at the San Francisco SPCA’s public-facing hospital and later directed its Spay/Neuter Clinic. Her work now focuses on high-volume spay/neuter and other soft tissue surgery at a nonprofit, public-facing clinic.
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