Barron County sees shortage in large animal veterinarians

Barron (WQOW) -- The need for health care employees extends into animal health care as several Wisconsin counties are faced with a veterinarian shortage. 

The United States Department of Agriculture is trying to fill the gap with a Veterinary Medical Loan Repayment Program. New veterinarians can receive up to $25,000 each year toward repayment of student loans if they commit to serving in a designated area for at least three years. This year, Barron County made the USDA's list as a region in need. 

Dr. Lisa Hansen, a large animal veterinarian at the Barron Veterinary Clinic, said she has seen a large animal vet shortage for years and applied to add Barron County to the list of identified areas for the 2017 grant period.

"With fewer and fewer vet clinics, our on-call is now covering a larger radius than what it used to," Hansen said. "We have 30 miles from border to border of this county, and that gets to be a large geographic area to cover."

Hansen has been practicing for 15 years and said she is the youngest of three large animal veterinarians at the Barron Veterinary Clinic. She said one, if not both, of her partners will retire within the next five years. 

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