YORKSHIRE TERRIER NATIONAL RESCUE 2018 ANOTHER EXCITING YEAR FOR YORKSHIRE TERRIER NATIONAL RESCUE By Patricia Kushnir, Linda Connor, PhD,RN,CPN and Mary Elizabeth Dugmore Y orkshire Terrier National Res- cue, Inc. (YTNR), a nonprofit headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, continues to fulfill rescues coming to YTNR. Corrine Ellison, Vice President of Rescue Op- erations and Dr. Linda Connor devel- oped a tool.
had decreased. The number of res- cues rated as 3-acuity has remained consistent. There has been no change over the past 6-years. The number of rescues rated 4-acuity score has sig- nificantly increased. This indicated that we are caring for rescues needing more medical attention. The number of rescues rated at a score of 5-acuity has remained stable. There has been no change over the past 6 years. It is important to understand that data prior to 2012 is not available which was the period of time be- fore YTNR members noticed an increase in the number of rescues that needed more medical attention, indicating the rescues could have been of lower acuity before 2012. Be- cause we did not assign acuity scores
its mission of rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming Yorkshire Terriers and other small breeds that are in need. This year the organization instituted a new program that will allow us to work more effectively as a rescue or- ganization as well as quantify the ef- fectiveness of the new program. At our annual boardmeeting, in 2014, several board members mentioned that it appeared that rescues with more medical complex conditions were being rescued into our rescue. Dr. Linda Connor, PHD recommend- ed we develop an acuity scoring tool to track the medical complexity of
Corrine retrospectively scored res- cues from 2012 through 2014 using the new tool. All rescues, starting in 2015 were assigned an acuity score. The following graphs developed by Dr. Connor show the number of res- cues and the acuity scores for YTNR rescues from 2012 through 2018. Over the past 6 years, the number of 1-acuity scored rescues has increased. Meaning, we are rescuing more Yor- kies that are healthy requiring mini- mal costs. The number of 2-acuity scored rescues has significantly de- creased. Meaning the rescues that require minimal medical attention
Acuity Scoring YTNR Rescues
Category Level
Health Status
Comments Examples
1a—needs nothing 1b—wellness, bordatella, vaccinations, heartworm test, fecal etc.
1
Healthy preventative care
1c—blood work, x-ray 1d—tests, (urine etc.)
2a—spay/neuter 2b—dental/extractions 2c—minor tumor removal mammary, other type tumors 2d—Hospitalized, IV’s
2
Minor surgery medical
3a—needs routine medication prevention (eye drops etc.) 3b—needs routine medication for a condition (seizures, diabetes, MVD, thyroid disease, etc.)
Medical conditions con- trolled by medication
3
4a—major surgery (heart, neck, back, liver shunt, etc.) 4b—major tumor removal mammary (complete chain) 5a—hard to place, age, weight, blind, partial paralysis etc. 5b—permanent foster 5c—euthanized or died in foster
4
Major surgery medical
5
Sick or complex
64 • T op N otch T oys , J anuary 2019
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