Ridge Veterinary Medical Society


















The Ridge Veterinary Medical
Society consists of
veterinarians from Polk and
Highland counties.  There are
approximately 60 plus
members currently on file.  
We meet on the first
Thursday of every month for
dinner, discussion of
important issues that affect
our practices, a chance to
discuss current cases and
information, and medical
discussions or information to
help further our education
and knowledge on new
products in the industry.  
Each meeting lasts 1-2 hours
and speakers are provided.  
We also have our own
provider number, which
allows each attending
veterinarian to receive 1 CE
unit per meeting.










While we are building please feel free to
contact the webmaster at:

webmaster@ridgevms.com
Ridge Veterinary Medical Society
MISSION STATEMENT

We are committed to
promoting our profession,
developing the potential of
our members and
improving our medical
knowledge through
monthly educational
meetings.
Dear RVMS Colleagues,

      It is with a feeling of great pride, honor
and responsibility that I begin my term as
president of the RVMS.  My roots in
veterinary medicine run deep in our Ridge
community.  My earliest veterinary
experiences were watching Dr. Maxwell do
surgeries in his small hot box of a surgical
suite using metaphane, or going with Dr. Tim
Swango to Cypress Gardens to work on their
exotics.  I remember getting up at 4:30 am to
go to the dairies with Dr. John Crews and
lifting 600 cow tails to pull blood for
Brucellosis while standing in a half a foot deep
of cow manure.

      It seems like just yesterday 20 years ago
that Dr. Ron Bell and I were standing in front
of the RVMS accepting the RVMS vet
scholarship.  Then after graduation from UF
and my completion of my internship at AMC
in New York, I was drawn like a moth to the
flame back to Winter Haven.

      Inspired by my experiences at AMC, I
have spent the last 15 years of my career
focused on developing a 24 hour emergency
and referral specialty hospital to serve our local
veterinary community.  I have made many
mistakes along the way, but also have seen
some successes.  What I have realized is that
veterinary medicine is a dynamic changing
profession.  It is a constantly progressing
moving target.  What worked well or was
standard of care five years ago is now obsolete.

      The economic environment has magnified
and complicated the dynamics of practice.  
We as a profession are at a crossroads of
change.  Client visits are declining, the pet
population is not growing, and there are many
outside predators like internet pharmacies and
lawyers targeting our profession.  We must
now re-evaluate our practices and learn how to
work smarter, not harder.

      My vision for our RVMS over the next two
years is to focus on topics and training that
will make our practices more stable and
profitable.  We need to become better business
owners and managers for the sake of our
families, our staff, and our clients.  The time is
now for us to take control of our financial
future and do the things that will build the
foundation for our continued success.

      I look forward to the challenges and
obstacles I am sure to encounter, and I pledge
to work diligently for the RVMS.  If I am able
to give back a small amount of what the Ridge
Veterinary community has given to me, my
term as president will be a success.  And with
that said, let the work begin.

Sincerely,
Loren T. Nations, DVM, DABVP
.
Loren T. Nations, DVM,
Diplomate ABVP
President of RVMS