The LBVM is committed to its charge to promote the public health, safety, and welfare by safeguarding the people of this state against incompetent, dishonest, or unprincipled practitioners of veterinary medicine, which includes DVMs, RVTs, and CAETs. In short, the Board’s ultimate responsibility is the protection of the public through its regulatory powers. And while action against an impaired licensee can be taken by the Board through disciplinary procedures, the Board feels that a healthy licensee is an important first step towards ensuring its mission in protecting the public is successfully achieved. The Board can, and is quite willing to, lawfully support the recovery and practice of those professionals and paraprofessionals who are cooperative and willing to receive assistance, and still properly discharge its duty of protecting the public.

In 2022, the Board announced the revival of its Peer Assistance Program through a new partnership with the Healthcare Professionals’ Foundation of Louisiana (HPFLA), providing vital assistance to Louisiana’s licensed veterinarians, registered veterinary technicians and certified animal euthanasia technicians who may be impaired by chemical dependency on drugs or alcohol or by mental illness. At its December ’22 meeting, the Board discussed the importance of its licensees to know about the invaluable services provided by the HPFLA and voted to approve one (1) hour of Continuing Education credit for any licensee who attends an HPFLA presentation offered around the state. For upcoming presentation dates and locations, call 225-291-5000 or email fvanderlick@hpfla.org.

HPFLA is non-profit organization that provides confidential services to various licensing boards and licensees in the healthcare industry. They offer a voluntary advocacy and monitoring program that allows licensees with impairments or in need of medical treatment to possibly avoid formal disciplinary actions by their licensing boards and obtain remediation in order to practice with skill and safety. The primary role of the HPFL Professionals’ Health Program (PHP) is to offer assistance to health care professionals and paraprofessionals who may be suffering from difficulties such as substance use issues, depression, anxiety, etc., in addition to a host of physical ailments and disruptive behavioral patterns.