UT launches Center for Pet Family Well-Being

The University of Tennessee College of Social Work has launched the Center for Pet Family Well-Being, a new interdisciplinary center that grows out of its Program for Pet Health Equity, an initiative the university says has been operating since 2017. The new center will use a “One Health Systems” framework that connects human health, veterinary care, housing, transportation, economics, policy, and research, with the goal of reducing the social and structural barriers that affect pet-inclusive families. UT said the program has secured more than $12 million in competitive grant funding to date, developed the AlignCare model for community-based veterinary access, and is backed through 2029 by Maddie’s Fund. (csw.utk.edu)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the announcement signals continued momentum behind access-to-care models that treat affordability, transportation, housing instability, and family well-being as clinical realities, not side issues. That framing lines up with broader industry concerns: UT’s AlignCare materials cite earlier coalition research finding that more than one in four families with pets faced barriers to veterinary care, mostly because they couldn’t afford it, while a 2025 PetSmart Charities-Gallup survey found many veterinarians still feel underprepared to discuss financial limits with clients and say cost-related euthanasia remains one of the hardest parts of practice. (pphe.utk.edu)

What to watch: UT said the center plans to expand its One Health Community Forum, launch the Journal of One Health Systems, and begin an annual One Health Systems Summit in October 2026 at the American Public Health Association Annual Conference. (csw.utk.edu)