July 13, 2019 9am to 5pm

Where: Marriott Toronto City Centre Hotel, Blue Jays Room

When: 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

Program Summary:

Community Veterinary Outreach (CVO) is a registered charity that improves the health of homeless and vulnerably-housed individuals, families and their pets through a One Health model of care. By offering human health services and health education alongside preventative veterinary care, Community Veterinary Outreach provides innovative access to both veterinary and human health care for at-risk populations across Canada.

CVO partners with the animal health community, human health and social services, and academic institutions to deliver One Health services for people that include primary care, immunizations, harm reduction, oral care, smoking reduction/cessation, mental health support and active living. Through veterinary volunteers, sponsors and supporters, animal companions are provided with wellness examinations, immunizations, parasite control, microchip implantation, and spay/neuter.

In partnership with WSAVA and CVMA, CVO is excited to provide delegates with the opportunity to participate in an outreach day. This outreach day will include a 2.5-hour One Health workshop where we will provide background on CVO’s One Health model and approaches, along with presentations by both human and animal health partners, followed by a Community Veterinary Outreach One Health clinic for homeless and vulnerably-housed pet owners at the Yonge Street Mission in Toronto. Delegates will be supervised by licensed veterinarians.

Program Speaker Lineup:

Susan Kilborn DVM, DVSc, DACVIM

Regional Director Ottawa, One Health Director, Community Veterinary Outreach

Dr. Susan Kilborn received her DVM degree from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. After 4 years of emergency and critical care practice in Winnipeg, she completed a post-graduate degree (DVSc program in Clinical Studies) at the Ontario Veterinary College. She became board certified in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 1995. Susan currently does referral internal medicine at Orleans Veterinary Hospital in Ottawa, consults (internal medicine and nutrition) for Antech Diagnostic Laboratories. Susan is Regional Director for Ottawa as well as One Health Director for Community Veterinary Outreach. Susan was the recipient of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association Small Animal Practitioner Award in 2015.

Mark Kinghorn DVM

Regional Director Toronto, Community Veterinary Outreach

Dr. Mark Kinghorn graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2004 and is the owner of Roncy Village Veterinary Clinic and Bloorcourt Veterinary Clinic. In 2017 Mark became certified as a Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medical practitioner and Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, and he is in the process of certifying as a Chinese Herbalist. Mark has been Community Veterinary Outreach’s Regional Director for Toronto since 2011.

Michelle Lem DVM, MSc, MSW, RSW

Founder, Community Veterinary Outreach

Dr. Michelle Lem graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) in 2001, and founded Community Veterinary Outreach in 2003, a registered charity that improves the health of homeless individuals and their pets through a “One Health” model of care. By offering human health services and health education alongside preventative veterinary care, Community Veterinary Outreach provides innovative access to both veterinary and human health care for at-risk populations across Canada. Community Veterinary Outreach has programs in 5 communities in Ontario, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Kelowna, and is scaling to the U.S. in the coming year.

After graduating from OVC, Michelle practiced on the North Island of New Zealand before returning to Ottawa, where she has practiced companion animal medicine and surgery as an associate veterinarian, companion animal mobile service and locum. From 2003 to 2009, Michelle provided behavioural consultations for companion animals on a referral basis; consulted for police canine units and was contracted by the Department of National Defence (military working dog program) from 2009 till 2011; and taught in the Veterinary Assistant and Technician programs at Algonquin College from 2004 till 2014. Michelle returned to OVC to pursue graduate research in the Department of Population Medicine, studying the effects of pet ownership on street-involved youth, receiving her MSc in 2012. In 2018 Michelle received her Master of Social Work from Carleton University. Her areas of interest for her MSW were: the link between human and animal violence, pet ownership among marginalized populations, wellbeing in the veterinary profession, and One Health approaches to intervention and practice. Michelle was elected an Ashoka fellow for her social innovation in accessible health care for marginalized populations and has received numerous awards including the OVC Young Alumnus Award, The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Award and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association’s Presidents Award.

Casey Panning BA, BEd, MPH

One Health Coordinator Toronto, Community Veterinary Outreach

Casey Panning has been involved with CVO since 2015. She began in a research capacity in the Golden

Triangle Region, transitioned to Public Health Resources Coordinator in this region, and in 2016 became the One Health Coordinator in the Toronto region. Her role with CVO involves coordinating with public health professionals in the Toronto area to provide access to various public health resources for clients who attend our Toronto clinics. It also involves maintaining and building relationships with public health professionals who service our clinics, and collecting and recording data as it pertains to the uptake of public health resources at our clinics. Casey has a Master of Public Health, and a Bachelor of Education. In her professional life, she is the Community Outreach and Education Coordinator at the Toronto Humane Society, where her role is to teach the public about animal welfare. Casey is passionate about animal welfare and completing the circle of health from pet to human.

Nicole Sonier-Hoe, MScN, PHC/NP

One Health-Smoking Cessation Services, Community Veterinary Outreach, Ottawa

Nicole Sonier-Hoe is a primary health care nurse practitioner, with experience providing community-based, outreach health care in a variety of settings including: northern Ontario outpost clinics, community health centres and a family shelter.

While employed over the last five years, at the Canadian Mental Health Assoc. (CMHA) in Ottawa, Nicole worked closely with the local homeless/ vulnerably housed communities, as well as those with serious mental illness, and concurrent addictions. Situated on both their nursing, and concurrent disorder/counselling teams, Nicole provided CMHA’s clientele with health-care related advocacy and consultation services, episodic physical and mental health care, chronic illness and cancer screening, as well as harm reduction, and smoking cessation counselling services. These were provided towards the collective agency objective of working to improve the long-term health, and life expectancy of individuals within these populations.

Given the challenges of inequitable health care access, encountered by those within these marginalized groups, Nicole, in collaboration with her CMHA nursing, and social work colleagues, became CVO-One Health partners, assisting with client engagement, and providing smoking cessation assistance, and back-up harm reduction services at their Ottawa clinics.

Amanda Acker DipDH, RDH

Amanda Acker graduated from Algonquin College, Ottawa, in 2001.  In 2011, she became self initiated and began the journey to independent dental hygiene, opening her first independent practice in 2013.  Her Ottawa clinic is multidisciplinary and offers the services of a denturist and dentist, in addition to those of dental hygienists. Amanda works closely with many community organisations, including community health centres and The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, and is a board member of Community Veterinary Outreach.  She also works as a peer mentor through the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario.  Since 2015, Amanda has worked part time at the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association as the independent practice advisor, where she is the first line of contact for members seeking business and independent practice advice.