LAKEWOOD, Colorado – Big announcements are in store for the American Animal Hospital Association Nashville 2017 Yearly Conference.

AAHA Nashville 2017 is set to kick off on Thursday, March 30. The conference runs March 30 – April 2.

At the 2016 AAHA conference, AAHA announced it would be changing its conference structure starting in 2018, when the new conference will be held in Denver. The association is expected to reveal further details about future AAHA conferences during the Opening Session ceremony on Thursday.

Since the 2016 conference, AAHA has increased focus on its accredited membership, announcing in October 2016 that the association will shift away from nonaccredited practice team membership. AAHA has also ramped up its benefits for accredited members, including offering free VetFolio subscriptions for accredited member hospitals. The association will share additional details in Nashville about new member programs that will benefit accredited hospitals.

AAHA’s opening ceremony will also include fresh pet owner research conducted with Trone Brand Energy, and will feature the AAHA-Accredited Practice of the Year Award winner.

AAHA has a strong history of giving back to local communities; each year, AAHA supports a different charity local to the AAHA Yearly Conference location. This year, AAHA selected Nashville Cat Rescue (NCR), a non-profit organization that rescues cat and kittens from shelters and the streets, as the Nashville charity.

AAHA will collect donations for NCR throughout the conference and will match what is raised by attendees. AAHA is also teaming up with NCR to offer the first-ever AAHA Cat Lounge for attendees in Nashville –inspired by modern day “cat cafes”, the Lounge offered attendees an opportunity to recharge their batteries while interacting with adoptable cats and kittens from NCR in the Exhibit Hall during the conference.

The AAHA annual conference offers veterinary attendees opportunity to learn practices from industry experts, discover the latest and greatest in products and services, and network with fellow veterinarians and technicians from around the country. 

As of March 27, over 2,600 attendees were registered for the conference, putting conference attendance on track to be ahead of the record set by the AAHA Austin 2016 conference.

AAHA will welcome 241 exhibiting companies to the Nashville conference.

For conference information and information about AAHA, visit aaha.org.

Read or link to this news on the AAHA website.