INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR ANIMAL HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE

The IAAHPC aims to increase the numbers of families who opt for animal hospice & palliative care services for their companion animals through consumer education. The organization also aims to increase the numbers of professionals who provide animal hospice & palliative care services through their professional/provider education programs and resources, such as developing guidelines for recommended practices to serve as the standards of care in animal hospice & palliative care. The IAAHPC hopes to facilitate scholarly discussion of animal hospice & palliative care issues, promote evidence-based research, and promote recognition of animal hospice & palliative care as a specialty area within the professions that provide animal hospice & palliative care services.

To increase awareness the IAAHPC utilizes a strong web presence with effective SEO, media campaigns, social media, and booths at both public and professional events. IAAHPC representatives also attend and speak at national and international professional conferences. The organization provides information for pet owners and professionals on the website and produces webinars for further education opportunities. Members provide community lectures and IAAHPC leadership has approached governing bodies of veterinarians, technicians, and social workers in hopes of collaboration and furthering knowledge and training in animal hospice & palliative care.
The IAAHPC facilitates scholarly discussion about animal hospice & palliative care by producing and participating in national and international conferences, by coordinating and helping staff the VIN (Veterinary Information Network) Animal Hospice & Palliative Care folder. IAAHPC members and leadership also give numerous lectures at educational institutes, community outreach programs, and local veterinary clinics and animal events. The IAAHPC provides resources for the presentations to their members.

The IAAHPC has continued to grow and evolve as its programs do. Previously served by an enthusiastic all-volunteer Board of Directors, the IAAHPC hired its first Executive Director in 2017. Hiring an executive director allows the organization to continue to grow its volunteer program and expand its reach through additional professional conference presence.

The IAAHPC's direct marketing and our members' marketing campaigns reach more families who are interested in applying the animal hospice & palliative care philosophy to special needs, chronically and terminally ill companion animals. Members regularly release articles and press releases related to events. The IAAHPC developed a National Animal Hospice Awareness Day in 2012, to educate the public and encourage caregivers to ask their regular veterinarians for information on animal hospice & palliative care. We also reach the general public as well as animal hospice professionals via social media.
For the past six years, IAAHPC has held an annual conference. American and international member and non-member professional attendance has increased from 35 to over 200 attendees.
We'd like to promote standards for end-of-life care for species besides companion animals, such as horses and livestock. We are aware of the increasing amount of research and literature in the field of zoological animals and hope to contribute to standards of care for euthanasia and hospice-assisted natural death.
In 2013, we published the Practice Guidelines for Animal Hospice & Palliative Care. These are available free to IAAHPC members and non-members on our website. Three IAAHPC veterinary members and one IAAHPC licensed veterinary technician-social worker participated on the task force to develop the IAAHPC-AAHA End-of-Life Care Guidelines. These were published in November of 2016 and we are excited about the potential to reach more veterinary clinics as they develop their standards of care for animal end of life.
IAAHPC's Education Committee has several members interested in pursuing research. We plan to commence contribution to scholarly discussions that pertain to animal end of life and research potentially able to reach peer reviewed journals in 2017.
Through launching the Animal Hospice & Palliative Care Certification program in 2016, we've made significant progress in developing a specialty within the veterinary and veterinary technician/nurse professions. The 2016-2017 inaugural class included over 70 veterinarians and veterinary technicians interested in becoming certified in animal hospice & palliative care. Our Education Committee opened the door to inviting more social workers into our field through getting 28 RACE-approved CEUs for the mental health content at our 2016 conference. We believe this paves the way for developing a Certificate Program in that profession. IAAHPC intends to eventually offer RACE approved continuing education credits at conferences and a Certification track to all licensed mental health professionals in the AHPC interdisciplinary team.