TODD COUNTY, Ky. — Kentucky is experiencing a large animal veterinarian shortage in rural areas. House Bill 553 addresses this issue and was sent to Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., March 28 before it was filed without the governor’s signature with Secretary of State Michael Adams, R-Ky., on April 9.

What You Need To Know

  • House Bill 553 is a veterinarian loan repayment program to reward students who studied out-of-state to return to Kentucky and practice in rural areas

  • Like other states, Kentucky is experiencing a large animal veterinarian shortage in rural areas

  • Vets who participate in the program would work in a rural area for five years and could receive more than $87,000 in loan repayments

  • The bill was filed with Secretary of State Michael Adams, R-Ky.

Trig, Calloway, and Union counties each have one large animal veterinarian, said John Laster, an owner of the Todd County Animal Clinic.

“The other counties are basically served by the large animal veterinarians in adjoining counties,” Laster said.

This is a problem for those counties, which are animal agriculture communities. Kentucky is not alone in this.

“When we looked at demographics and were traveling the state, we found that we were just like several other states where we have a rural veterinary shortage,” said Debra Hamelback, executive director of the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association (KVMA).

Hamelback said the state’s department of agriculture created a task force to find solutions.

“One of the things that came out of the (Veterinary Shortage Working Group) report ... is that one way you could have the immediate impact is to have student loan repayment programs,” Hamelback said.

The KVMA worked with State Rep. Matthew Koch, R-Paris, who drafted HB 553.

“We’ve had a veterinarian working group looking at our shortage issues for several years,” Koch said in a statement. “We’ve identified a number of different approaches, but the rural vet loan repayment program is proven to work.”

It had several co-sponsors, including State Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson, D-Lexington.

“We think that those that are learning out of state, if we can get them to come back and we can help them with the student loans they have to go through vet school, then this is absolutely going to be something that makes an immediate impact,” Stevenson said.

Veterinarians in the program would work in a rural area for five years and could be awarded up to $87,500 in loan repayments.

“With an average debt load of $180,000, this should provide incentive for veterinarians who want to practice on large animals,” Koch said in the statement.

Laster said he knows of veterinarian students and recent hires with high student loans.

“The student loan debt is one of the major factors that’s not allowing the guys to come back to their home community, to come home to go to work and do large animal medicine,” he said.

The funding for the vet loan repayment program has been split between the General Assembly and the Kentucky Agriculture Development Fund (KADF).

The general assembly has approved its portion of funding, and the KVMA hopes the KADF funding is approved in May.

“For this to work, it must be a team effort between the community, the veterinarian and the KDA, who needs to approve 50% of the funding,” Koch said in the statement.

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