Mcas Miramar Medical - 1/2 Show Caption + Hide Caption - Spc. Veterinary Food Inspection Specialist Jessica Bonner cares for a military working dog at the Marine Corps Air Force Veterinary Treatment Facility in Miramar, Calif., Oct. 20, 2020. Bonner is trained to serve as an animal care specialist for Miramar WTF staff to provide support when staff is short. Bonner's ability to learn the basic tasks of an animal care specialist has allowed the VTF to continue to work in support of the MVD mission, as well as support more than 7,000 private animals in the local military community. (Courtesy photo) (Photo credit: USA) SEE ORIGINAL
2/2 Show Caption + Hide Caption - Sgt. Ashley Santacroce, sergeant in charge of the Miramar Veterinary Treatment Facility and animal care specialist, Spc. Jessica Bonner, Veterinary Food Inspection Specialist, Crystal Lester and Emily Jackson, both Unaffiliated Foundation Veterinary Technicians, work together at the Miramar VTF, California, October 2020. VTF staff are responsible for more than 7,100 animal patients. (Courtesy photo) (Photo credit: USA) SEE ORIGINAL
Mcas Miramar Medical
The staff at MCAS Miramar Veterinary Hospital are no strangers to overcoming challenges and finding creative solutions to continue the mission.
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Over the past three years, the team has overcome one obstacle after another, such as juggling staff shortages and operational restrictions from COVID-19, to continue caring for their furry patients.
"The primary mission of VTFs like Miramar is to provide veterinary medical care to government-owned animals, such as military working dogs," explained Sgt. Ashley Santacroce, former NCO in charge of Miramar VTF and animal care specialist. "So it was very important that the mission continue, regardless of the challenges we faced."
"This secondary pet care service benefits the clinic by improving the medical skills of our veterinarians and staff so we can carry out our primary mission of caring for MVD," continued Santacroce.
While VTFs benefit local military communities by providing services to pet owners, they also mean staff members can see and care for more patients.
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"We care for 46 military working dogs, 69 non-government animals and about 7,000 private animals," explained the San Diego Department's Chief Veterinarian, Dr. (Capt.) Caitlin Sullivan.
With over 7,100 patients under their care, the Miramar team is always busy. So when Santacroce joined the team in 2017, she was eager to take on the challenge as the new VTF NCOIC.
"I wasn't an NCOIC at my previous station, so I didn't know what to expect when I got here, but I was ready to learn the job and do it," Santacroce said.
"When I first came to Miramar, I relied on the management that was there and they really put me in a position," she said. “I was lucky enough to have three specialists, so they focused on the military working dog mission while I was training to run the clinic, as our lead GS vet was also a reservist due to deploy.
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Santacroce didn't know she was going to be fired. Although initially composed entirely of soldiers and inadequate foundation personnel, the team dwindled over the next two years due to deployments, turnover, and the constant change in station rotation.
"2019 ended up being my last soldier reclassified," Santacroce explained. "So by the end of the year, I was the last soldier at the clinic."
“While I still had a few NAF personnel and one NAF vet in the clinic,” she said, “I thought the whole mission was military personnel only because our vet GS never came back and our clinic. you do not have a dedicated OIC at that time.
For Santacroce, that meant juggling four MVD kennels and five government-owned facilities that housed animals for the Department of Homeland Security.
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"I had to coordinate the care of all the animals, such as scheduling and managing dog appointments and vaccinations, while making sure treatments were administered in time to get them ready for the mission," Santacroce said.
In addition to overseeing the MVD mission, Santacroce was responsible for ensuring that NAF personnel and clinics were in compliance with all operational and administrative requirements.
"There were a lot of administrative aspects," Santacroce said. “I supervised five or six NAF personnel, so I did time sheets for them, made schedules and coordinated with the staff if any personnel action was required. On the military side of the administrative tasks, I would manage the tasks and the budget.
To keep up with the heavy workload and responsibilities, Santacroce worked with San Diego Public Health operations management to find creative solutions to ease the burden of the clinic's understaffing.
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One of the ways they worked together to ease the burden of the MVD mission was by joining forces with VTF Camp Pendleton.
"We coordinated with Camp Pendleton because there were several war vets there," Santacroce explained. "So we set up a schedule where they basically come in once a week and help meet the military working dogs, and if we really need to see the dogs, we'll send them to Camp Pendleton."
While the added support of army vets was a welcome relief, the day-to-day administrative tasks and routine care, such as vaccinations, were still too much for one soldier to juggle.
To help solve this problem, the PHA-SD leadership team reached out to Veterinary Food Inspection Soldiers to volunteer to help with the animal care specialist mission.
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"We needed help, but we couldn't get them to come to the clinic because the food inspectors had their own mission," continued Santacroce. Spc. [Jessica] Bonner volunteered at the clinic and it was such a relief to be able to immediately help out as a receptionist, making appointments and answering questions.
As a traditionally trained veterinary food inspector, Bonner knew only the limited mission of an animal care specialist, but was happy to help in any way she could at the small opportunity to learn more about vaccinations for government animals.
"I had the opportunity to help with vaccinations at the kennels for a week," Bonner said. "After that Sgt. First Class Kristen Stoll from PHA-SD asked me how I enjoyed myself and if I would like to help out at the Miramar VTF.
Bonner immediately began working as a receptionist and clerk at Miramar VTF, and with the help and supervision of Miramar and Santacroce staff, began assisting with patient visits.
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"When I got the receptionist position, that's when they started teaching me how to properly handle a dog, whether it's a personal pet or a military working dog," Bonner explained. "They showed me exactly how to handle and vaccinate the animal, and then when it was my turn to do it, they were there every step of the way to make sure I didn't do anything to hurt myself, the pet." , or MVD.
As the Miramar VTF began to gather strength and help more patients, the team had to face another operational challenge - the COVID-19 and global pandemic.
"It was really challenging at first because we had to stop seeing private animals and focus only on military working dogs because our NAF staff couldn't work," explained Santacroce. "So I would have to call clients and spend a lot of time canceling or rescheduling appointments."
To overcome this obstacle, Santacroce worked with Dr. (Capt.) Colleen Manns, who was then acting branch officer responsible for both the food inspection and the veterinary mission.
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"We've created a path forward that allows us to see patients again and get NAF staff back to work," Santacroce said. "We wanted to start slowly and have more time for each meeting." We had masks and wipes to wipe down the pets in case customers were worried about them getting anything when we touched them, and we stockpiled piles of gloves because they were in short supply.
Together, Mance and Santacroce were able to retrieve Bonner and the rest of the NAF personnel as the private animal mission slowly returned.
This service allowed pet owners to safely remain in their vehicles while calling to check in at the clinic, reducing the potential spread of COVID-19.
"We'd go out to their vehicles and get the animal's history, then bring the pet in for the meeting," Santacroce recalls. "Most customers were very satisfied."
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The success of these strategies has been demonstrated. Last summer, the clinic's profits were unmatched by any other clinic in the PHA-SD footprint.
"Despite being understaffed and facing the challenges of COVID-19, last summer was one of our most profitable months,"
