The Road to Capacity for Care (C4C): What it truly means to provide the best care & services for all animals (& people!) in your community Kathy Innocente Director of Operations Animal Welfare Agency South Central Ontario kathy.innocente@kwhumane.com www.kwhumane.com Cynthia Karsten, DVM Outreach Veterinarian Koret Shelter Medicine Program University of California, Davis clkarsten@ucdavis.edu www.sheltermedicine.com
Your Shelter?
Your Shelter!
Possible?
Inevitable? WHY????
Environmental and group health risk factors for feline respiratory disease in North American animal shelters 49 questions including cage size, material and number, hiding place, handling, infectious disease control, vaccination, feeding, timing of S/N, air quality, natural light, dog exposure
Nine shelters, > 30,000 cats, 4,930 cases of respiratory disease > 50-fold variation in risk per cat per day
After all that, what mattered most? Drum roll please Greater than 9 square feet of floor space Double compartment housing Half as many cats
Eureka!
http://www.sheltervet.org/ http://www.aspcapro.org/checklist
The mother of all standards Every sheltering organization has a maximum capacity for care, and the population in their care must not exceed that level. (Shelter Standards, page 18-20)
What you need AND what you have Requirements and ability to provide care MUST be balanced
When they are not matched
Capacity for Care basics Matching the number of cats in the system with: The number of good quality housing spaces The amount of staff time available The perfect number to move each cat to the right outcome as fast as possible
The basis of four of the Freedoms 9 square feet floor space, double compartment single housing 18 square feet floor space per cat in group housing Housing appropriate to length of stay and temperament for every cat
Now Available! www.sheltermedicine.com Search for portal
Stroll Get up high Play What about the fifth Freedom? Graze Snooze in a warm spot Hang out with other cats Run Look out the window Pounce Chin rub Scratch Hang out with dogs Spend time outside Stand tall Jump Drink fresh water Spend time alone Get real long Get real small Snuggle with people Get down low Groom Full body rub Relax in a cool s
One more freedom? Five Freedoms plus one
What the Five Freedoms plus one really means
Seriously, drop the number of animals housed???
Increase holding Holding versus flow capacity by capacity by building and staffing ever larger shelters Increase flow decreasing average length of stay Holding capacity: how many animals can be cared for at once Flow capacity: how many animals can be cared for over time
Holding versus flow capacity Which one saves lives? Holding capacity: how many animals can be cared for at once Flow capacity: how many animals can be cared for over time
The Math Capacity = Intake x LOS Change? 1. Decrease intake 2. Expand physical and/or staff capacity 3. Reduce LOS
Effect of LOS
Effect of LOS
Effect of LOS
LOS effect on LOS LOS is single greatest risk factor for disease LOS increases risk for chronic stress Every day of LOS takes times and costs at least a little Decreasing LOS reduces disease risk, lowers stress for animals and staff and reduces cost Less disease, less stress and more money can be used to further decrease LOS
Number of animals housed and Decreasing the # in line at any one time is the most powerful LOS way to decrease the length of time in the line More individuals waiting does not change the rate of outcome For a given rate of outcomes, length of time waiting is determined by the number of individuals waiting Self sustaining at any level Fewer, better quality housing units means fewer individuals waiting
Bottom Line ½ the number of housing units + ½ the LOS = Same number of animals helped!
What s your magic number? Determine your optimal average LOS pre-adoption and in adoption Obtain for last 2 years: Monthly intake Monthly on-site adoptions Cats versus kittens Multiply daily average for the month by target LOS Create a monthly plan
Ideal LOS pre-adoption/other outcome Legal hold Short as possible to live outcome for unidentified cats Time for evaluation IDEAL PRE-ADOPTION LOS USUALLY < 7 Don t wait for friendly and healthy to get friendlier and healthier Needed services Are you sure? Could it be done while cat is available/after adoption? Time for transfer/transport days
Usually < 7-10 days Ideal LOS to adoption Long end if not visible during pre-adoption hold or for very small shelters Cats that move faster make time and space for cats that move slower This is not a time limit!!!!
C4C Monthly Calculator http://sheltermedicine.com/documents/capacity-for-care-pathway-calculator
Impatient with math? Average LOS to adoption > 14 days? You can almost certainly do this! Invest in good housing and see how far you can get Create a safety net as needed Managed admission Foster care for healthy adults Back-of-house humane housing short term Doors that can close 36
Limited or no intake quarantine Careful exam and daily monitoring instead Maximum 3 days to verify health and allow for vaccine protection Don t wait for booster vaccines Keep cats moving!
Keep cats moving! Place adoption candidates straight into adoption Owner surrendered and friendly unidentified strays Allow interaction and adoption holds Fast track to outcome Promote adoption early and often Population: don t wait for crowding Slow track cats: don t wait for long LOS
Minimal or no stray hold to live outcome for unidentified cats Especially litters of kittens, return to field candidates Support microchipping and identification to help pets get home Double check your local hold requirement for cats; advocate for change if needed Keep cats moving!
Keep cats moving! Eliminate un-necessary barriers to adoption Customer friendly hours Conversation not interrogation Amazing customer service Higher risk adopter = all the more important to get a shelter animal http://www.animalsheltering.org/how-wehelp/strengthen-your-shelter/adopters-welcome/
One or more of: Hold an adoption special Limit intake short term Fast track/slow track to C4C Wait until winter Self sustaining at new level Serve and save more over time Repeat on smaller scale if you get off track Getting started
More support http://chewonthis.maddiesfund.org /2015/06/decreasing-shelterlength-of-stay/ http://blogs.bestfriends.org/index.php/2 016/01/19/why-shorter-hold-times-savelives/ 43
Animal Welfare Agency South Central Ontario The Animal Welfare Agency South Central Ontario is a new organization formed in July 2012 Represents the coming together of the Stratford-Perth Humane Society (established in 1980) and the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society (established in 1927)
Animal Welfare Agency South Central Ontario K-W facility-18,000 square foot facility that can house 150 cats and 65 dogs; in emergency situations the centre can be quickly altered to care for more than 400 animals Stratford faclity-8000 square foot state of the art facility build in 2016 that can house 75 cats and 30 dogs
AWASCO-Pre C4C Spring & summer high cat intakes; overpopulation of cats 1000+ cats historically entering the centre each summer; June, July & August 2013 July Inventory in centre; 86 adoption cats, 21 in isolation, 115 in strays, 300 cats in foster care
High Incidents of URI Average cats housed in isolation through out the year; 20+ Outbreaks from room to room through out the summer months Combating URI Closure of infected rooms 10 day medicating regime Treatment of secondary infections increased length of stay Euthanasia
Length of Stay (LOS) 39 days in adoption 19 days in isolation 10 days in strays Costs associated with high length of stay 49
Neonates represented more than 50% of our fosters Significant cost for Kitten Milk Replacers Neonates took up significant time in foster care Only experienced foster caregivers used Neonates
The Beginning of our Journey
Community Messaging Communication Plan Community involvement & education Staff training & scripting
Partnerships Rescues City buy-in & support Community members Veterinarians Staff/volunteers
Feline Welfare & Enrichment Use of curtailments Tender Loving Care Program (TLC) Cat housing-portals installed
Managing Intakes Waiting lists for owner surrenders Behaviour helpline Neonate protocol Community education on stray cats Rescue partnership
Changing the Path Animal flow through; fast track cats Medical/behavioural decision made early Return to Field, TNR, Barn Cat Program
Adoption Campaigns Regular adoption fee rebates Fee waived adoptions Small animal interaction encouraged Easier adoption process
Monitoring Data Celebrating Success
What does this all add up to? Intake numbers down by 32% Incidents of URI down by 84% Reduced labour costs Shorter length of stays; 49 to 24 Best of all - happier staff & pets!!
Stay on track A month ago things slipped here. In the madness, we didn t do our numbers for the half way point so we didn t know when to stop taking in cats; we just kept accepting them. We got totally backed up with cats. They started getting sicker, more diarrhea and inappetance. The energy in the Shelter was of slight panic with a twinge of running around like a chicken with your head cut off.
Stay on track It felt like old times all over again, and it was not a good feeling. Honestly, looking back, how did we ever get by like that? And really we didn t. We worked day-to-day with no bigger picture to aim for. Every day was a crisis. Every day was stressful. Every day cats were being euthanized. Every day the staff left exhausted. Without a doubt, hands down, in my seven years here, Capacity for Care is the best program that has ever happened to the shelter.
Back on track!
Putting it all together Staying within C4C Less illness and more, quicker adoptions Shorter LOS, reduced costs More resources to build community capacity Fewer animals needing shelter in the first place Repeat as necessary Repeat as necessary
C4C step by step 1. Work with an incredible shelter! 2. Calculate how many animals would be in each stage of care based on ideal LOS in that stage = goal for # of animals housed Ideal pre-adoption LOS Ideal adoption LOS Look at previous 2 years data 3. Managed intake/los analysis/adoptions/etc. to get to ideal # 4. Convert all housing to meet guidelines 9 square feet/double compartment single 18 square feet group housing (group size ideally < 6) 5. Add housing/staff if needed for ideal LOS
Questions? Kathy Innocente kathy.innocente@kwhumane.com Cynthia Karsten, DVM clkarsten@ucdavis.edu