September 15, 2021
AVMA Award presented to Gregory S. Hammer
The Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act would have awarded grants to veterinary colleges offering training to increase the number of veterinarians in the public health workforce.
The legislation never passed Congress, but the bill was the top priority for Dr. Gregory S. Hammer as 2007-08 AVMA president. He thinks the need to expand the public health workforce is even greater today with the COVID-19 pandemic and more zoonotic diseases coming to the forefront. Currently, the AVMA is backing the Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act (S 861/HR 2061), which includes workforce development.
Dr. Hammer, a Delaware-based small animal practitioner, accepted The AVMA Award in July in person ahead of the regular annual session of the AVMA House of Delegates and in a prerecorded video that aired during the keynote for AVMA Virtual Convention 2021. The award recognizes contributions to the advancement of veterinary medicine in its organizational aspects.
Dr. Ronald E. Gill, who represents District VI on the AVMA Board of Directors, nominated Dr. Hammer for the award. Dr. Gill wrote to his fellow Board members: “I submit to each of you that as a private practitioner, there are certain words and actions that are of great importance to me. Words like Dedication, Honesty, Trustworthiness, Hard Work and Sincerity come to my mind. I could use each and every one of these words to describe my experience with Dr. Hammer.”
Dr. Hammer, originally from Kansas City, Kansas, knew from an early age that he wanted to pursue a medical career. He loved science and biology, and he started leaning toward veterinary medicine. From age 7 or 8, he shadowed his uncle, Dr. Jim Boyd, a small animal practitioner in Nebraska.
“I loved watching him and couldn’t wait until I could do something like spaying grandma‘s cat on an ironing board in the basement,” Dr. Hammer said. “That was the first surgery I ever saw, and I got a little nauseous.”
Dr. Hammer earned his veterinary degree in 1973 from Kansas State University. His uncle had served in the Air Force for two years before entering private practice, and Dr. Hammer thought doing the same would be a good way to pay off his educational debt of $3,000. He was stationed in Dover, Delaware.
He and his wife, Karen, had planned to return to Kansas City, but the country was in a recession in the mid-1970s, and Dr. Hammer had been visiting and working with the veterinarians at Brenford Animal Hospital in Dover. He joined the practice in 1976 and has been there ever since. His two children and six grandchildren remain in the area.
Dr. Hammer first got involved with the Delaware VMA helping organize its meetings. Later, he jumped on an opportunity to become a delegate to the AVMA House of Delegates. He served a term on the AVMA Board before becoming 2007-08 AVMA president, which allowed him to take the AVMA’s messages to 48 states and six countries.
Dr. Hammer believes all veterinarians should be involved in organized veterinary medicine so their combined voice is stronger to the public and the government. He thinks the legislative issues that the AVMA works on are the most important thing the AVMA does for members.
Nowadays, Dr. Hammer tells people that he is retired because he only works Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
“I enjoy my colleagues. I enjoy my clients, and I love the animals,” he said. “I have no plans to stop right now, although the first three out of four clients I saw the other day asked me when I was going to retire. I don’t know if they wanted me to retire—or not retire!”