CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS, BOTH NEW AND RE-ELECTED, THE GOVERNOR, AND THE BUDGET COMMITTEES TO LET THEM KNOW ABOUT THE CRITICAL NEED TO RESTORE FULL FUNDING TO THE NEW JERSEY VETERINARY MEDICAL EDUCATION CONTRACT PROGRAM (NJVMECP)!
This is a work force and education issue. Due to the absence of a College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) in New Jersey, the NJVMECP contracted seats at established CVMs to be reserved for New Jersey residents since 1971. There are only 28 CVMs in the United States. Of the 22 states that lack a CVM, only 3 do not have a contract program (Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island). Since 1972 there have been an average of 24 New Jersey contract seats available per year, without which our qualified residents would have had less than a 1 in 30 (3%) chance of being accepted to an American College of Veterinary Medicine. The contract seats improve that access by over 600% (1 out of 5). The NJVMECP has provided access to education to over 26% of the 1675 veterinarians currently licensed in New Jersey.
Veterinarians not only provide medical care to the millions of animals owned by NJ residents but also play essential roles in the state’s pharmaceutical and equine industries; Federal, State and local government agencies (e.g., USDA, NJDA, NJDHSS); and in homeland security/anti-bio-terrorism efforts. Veterinarians also are essential to the many colleges and universities that have animal research and/or teaching programs.
In the next ten years the need for veterinarians in New Jersey is projected to increase by 69%, the highest increase in the nation. Providing New Jersey residents with reasonable access to veterinary education with a mandatory return clause will enable the state to retain the number of professionals needed for the ongoing success of the pharmaceutical and equine industries, provision of health care for NJ animals and essential contributions to homeland security efforts.
The cost efficiency of the NJVMECP is significant. Since 1972, the State has spent a total of $36,950,000 to provide access for 744 NJ residents to receive a veterinary education. This is only 2.6% of the cost of educating the same number of veterinarians if the State had established its own college ($380,000 per graduate).
The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) requested $1,505,538.00 for FY2008-2009 for the NJVMECP with the new provision that recipients of contract seats will be required to work in New Jersey for at least 4 years after completion of their education. If they do not return, they will be required to repay to the state the capitation fees paid for their seat. The amount requested would cover 24 seats for the full 4 years it takes to get a veterinary degree.
For a second year in a row the FY2007-2008 New Jersey annual budget allocated only $687,000 to the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Education Contract Program. This is less than 55% of New Jersey’s contractual obligation to the 7 Colleges of Veterinary Medicine participating in the program for the seats they had allocated to New Jersey residents in the past 3 years, much less providing for the assignment of new seats for the incoming class of 2011. As a result, 4 of the 7 colleges have dropped out of the program and are no longer reserving seats exclusively for New Jersey residents: University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, University of Illinois, and Iowa State University. Only 8 reserved seats were allocated this year, 4 at Tufts University, 2 at Tuskegee and 2 at Oklahoma State, cutting the program by 60%. Over 125 New Jersey residents were seeking admission to the contract schools for the fall of 2007. With only 8 seats available their chances for admission plummeted.
We are in serious jeopardy of losing the program. The 3 remaining contract schools will not tolerate a third year of breached contracts and will cease to admit NJ residents under the preferred contract status. The students in the breached contract seats will also be less likely to return to work in the state that let them down (At most of the schools they were forced to pay the missing capitation fees themselves!).
Please feel free to contact me (732-919-1483) or other NJVMECP Advisory Committee members (see attached list) if you need more information on the value of this critical, cost effective program.
Sincerely,
Sarah Ralston, VMD, PhD, DACVN, Chair, NJVMECP Advisory committee
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| Chairperson | |
| Sarah Ralston, VMD 732-919-1483 | |
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| Ralstonvmd@msn.com | |
| Members | |
| Barry M. Adler, DVM Barry.adler4@verizon.net | |
| Carolyn Self, DVM | |
| Nancy E. Halpern, DVM nancy.halpern@ag.state.nj | |
| Clifford Muddell, DVM cgmb8803@aol.com | |
| Mike Hennessey, DVM eovh@comcast.net |
