| Complaint: | Complaint 22-112 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Barbara Batke |
| Premises: | Yavapai Emergency Animal Hospital |
This complaint is interesting in terms of the tangled web it weaves. Batke is an AzVMA Director while Frost is the veterinary technician veterinary board member. At the same time Frost is on the vet board and an owner of Yavapai Emergency Animal Hospital, she's also an at-large director for the Arizona Veterinary Technician Association, which is lobbying for better pay and respect for vet techs. The only "platinum" donor to the AzVTA (as of 2023) was listed as none other than Yavapai Emergency Animal Hospital. Another business partner of Batke and Frost is veterinarian Amie Dow, the spouse of AzVMA Director and former vet board investigator Cameron Dow (himself the son of a former board member and co-owner of Prescott Animal Hospital).
This was a board-initiated investigation into Barbara Batke and Yavapai Emergency Animal Hospital (co-owned by board member and veterinary technician Nikki Frost). On a private Facebook group veterinarian Heather Bjornebo posted a link to a survey about an upcoming Veterinary Professional Associate program in Colorado; such a position would allow vet techs to legally practice with more responsibilities, leading to concerns that it would harm both veterinarians and veterinary technicians.
Batke responded that she was supportive of a similar program and felt that existing careers would be safe. In fact, she was so supportive that her hospital already has one working there as an Advanced Veterinary Practice nurse. She says that it actually elevates the status of a vet tech, and in her case her hire helped them get through the COVID crisis by taking the load off veterinarians. Some individuals pointed out that this was probably illegal, and she responded that "we have state VMA board members, examining board members, and AVMA representatives in our group and went through a thorough review with these channels." (Remember that among other things Batke is with the AzVMA Board of Directors while Frost is on the veterinary board as the veterinary technician member.)
Batke goes on to defend the position, stating that it's definitely not illegal under Arizona statute. She says that it's a "frontier" but that they're always working under the supervision of a veterinarian, and that as hospitals become overwhelmed, we need to think outside the box. We're also told that this "extreme" solution might be the way to deal with veterinary technicians being so undervalued and underappreciated; she feels so bad that vet techs are paid so little, especially as a small business owner, and asks her fellow vets on the Facebook page "[h]ave you not experienced burn out or compassion fatigue?" We're told that she has a small group of people working on this, meeting with lobbyists, and hospitals, and that by going down through proper channels "an advanced version of a vet tech can THRIVE on their salary, not just SURVIVE." She extends an open invitation to other "doctors" who would like to see it in action.
The board investigation is unique even by their standards. After Nikki Frost recused herself, she then went on to speak on the subject along with respondent and colleague Barbara Batke. The board couldn't muster up quite enough votes to dismiss outright, so one of the other board members, Darren Wright, suggested obtaining medical records around the time of the social media post. He couldn't even get a second on that motion. So after not looking into the records, it appears they did some more interviews and then sent a Letter of Concern to Batke.
A few months later in October of 2022 the Assistant Attorney General gave a presentation regarding third-party communications training. It focused on making sure that board members' statements outside of the board don't end up being taken as a policy statement. They seemed to really want to step around whatever incident precipitated the training, so whether it was this one or yet some other weirdness is hard to determine.
One wonders if the best way to improve the quality of veterinary technicians might be to improve the existing education system and pay scales; veterinary technicians seem to be a rather mixed bag, at least anecdotally, much like the veterinarians themselves. This program appears to be sold in part as being the equivalent of a physician's assistant or nurse practitioner, but I'm not sure most people would consider a vet tech to be anything like a nurse (or, for that matter, a veterinarian to be much of a doctor). I've routinely obtained better service and competence at Mini dealerships in New Mexico, Arizona, and Illinois than I have from all but a couple of veterinary facilities anywhere in the United States.
| Source: | May 5, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Barbara Batke | Respondent |
| Proposed By: | Robyn Jaynes |
| Seconded By: | Jane Soloman |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Recused |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | July 7, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Barbara Batke | Respondent |
| Proposed By: | Melissa Thompson |
| Seconded By: | Jim Loughead |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Nay |
| Darren Wright | Nay |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jane Soloman | Nay |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Recused |
| Robyn Jaynes | Nay |
| Result: | Failed |
| Source: | July 7, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Barbara Batke | Respondent |
| Proposed By: | Darren Wright |
| Result: | Failed (no second) |
| Source: | July 7, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Barbara Batke | Respondent |
| Proposed By: | Craig Nausley |
| Seconded By: | Jane Soloman |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Nay |
| Jim Loughead | Nay |
| Melissa Thompson | Nay |
| Nikki Frost | Recused |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | August 8, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Barbara Batke | Respondent |
| Proposed By: | Jim Loughead |
| Seconded By: | Jane Soloman |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Recused |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
The primary source for the above summary was obtained as a public record from the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board. You are welcome to review the original records and board meeting minutes by clicking the relevant links. While we endeavor to provide an accurate summary of the complaint, response, investigative reports and board actions, we encourage you to review the primary sources and come to your own conclusions. In some cases we have also been able to reach out to individuals with knowledge of specific complaints, and where possible that information will be included here.