Non Technical Summary
Due to being a rural veterinary shortage area with a low veterinarian retention rate, South East Kansasproducers are often left without services their livestock need, and with a jaded outlook on veterinarians staying in the area. Currently, the ratio of veterinarians to cattle cited in the shortage nomination is 1:13,794. This gap in needs and providers, as well as trust in veterinary practices, leaves room for animal health and welfare issues to arise. As noted in the area nomination form, this is of particular interest to the area because two counties are border counties for interstate movement. Funding to allow the practice to update its truck with vet box, purchase a portable tilt chute, and purchase a point of care analyzer for in field diagnostics will be beneficial in several ways. First, these items willgreatly increase the quality and safety of the practice for both patients and employees. It will alsoenhance education for the local veterinary nursing program. Enabling us to offer safer, highly effective, and expand services willpositively impact producers and future animal health professionals as well as visiting students.For Dr. Hailey Mueller Veterinary Services, LLC there are three main objectives for entering into a Rural Practice Enhancement Project in shortage area KS 242. 1- Increase availability and quality of large animal services to the shortage area. 2- Add services and build more relationships with producers, such that animal health and welfare are improved. 3- Utilize equipment that enhances safety and sustainability of veterinarians to practice large or mixed animal practice long term.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
311	3310	1160	70%
311	3610	1160	10%
311	3810	1160	10%
311	3820	1160	10%

Knowledge Area
311 - Animal Diseases;

Subject Of Investigation
3610 - Sheep, live animal; 3310 - Beef cattle, live animal; 3820 - Goats, meat, and mohair; 3810 - Horses, ponies, and mules;

Field Of Science
1160 - Pathology;

Goals / Objectives
For Dr. Hailey Mueller Veterinary Services, LLC there are three main objectives for entering into a Rural Practice Enhancement Project in shortage area KS 242. 1- Increase availability and quality of large animal services to the shortage area (increase large animal clients serviced in the area of need by at least 20%). 2- Add services (cattle herd and foot work) and build more relationships with producers (incrase cattle clientele by at least 20%), such that animal health and welfare are improved. 3- Utilize equipment that enhances safety and sustainability of veterinarians to practice large or mixed animal practice long term (put into practice a safe cattle handing/processing system). These goals will be accomplished using grant funding to purchase a truck with vet box, portable cattle chute, and a portable blood chemistry analyzer.

Project Methods
As this project is a rural practice enchancement, no specific sceintific method will be utilized. Rather, tracking or resulted increases in services offered, producers reached and students hosted will be done. Specific invoice line items exist in the practice management software (Idexx Neo) reflects each service or item invoiced for and the location that it is done based on travel zones. Number of uses and revenue from the equipment can and will be easily tracked. Numbers of visiting students and their experiences will also be documented.