New Mexico Veterinary Medical Association to present award Feb. 22

ALBUQUERQUE – Dr. Tim Hanosh, director of the New Mexico Department of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Services Division, has been named the state’s 2019 Veterinarian of the Year by the New Mexico Veterinary Medical Association.

Hanosh oversees the division that conducts diagnostic analysis of animal specimens from veterinarians and agencies to determine the cause of deaths or to identify diseases. These specimens range from a tube of blood or piece of tissue to a large animal. Veterinary Diagnostic Services is located in Albuquerque, in the same building as the New Mexico Department of Health’s Scientific Laboratory Division.

Hanosh has been the director since July 2011.

With the New Mexico Department of Agriculture main building being housed on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, the state agency and the state higher education institution work together on issues related to the agriculture industry. As part of the land-grant university system, NMDA falls under the purview of NMSU, and the NMSU Board of Regents serves as the state’s Board of Agriculture.

NMDA’s Veterinary Diagnostic Services works closely with NMSU Cooperative Extension Services, primarily Extension Veterinarian Dr. John Wenzel and the NMSU College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Extension Animal Sciences and Natural Resources.

New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte said Hanosh is an asset to the New Mexico community as a whole.

“Dr. Hanosh’s dedication to serving our New Mexico veterinarian community with timely and accurate animal health diagnostics is a testament to his dedication to the state,” said Witte. “Veterinary Diagnostic Services has grown its diagnostic submissions by nearly 20% since he was named director nine years ago. We are proud of his leadership and the entire team at the lab.”

The purpose of the award is to recognize the veterinarian who has rendered outstanding service to the profession, has served as an outstanding representative of the profession to the general public and whose activities, civic involvement and lifestyle exemplify the type of professional person that all veterinarians can be proud of. The award recipient demonstrates a sincere concern for the image and advancement of the profession and demonstrates a dedication to a lifetime of learning. The recipient is willing to represent the profession honestly and well to young people considering veterinary medicine as a career choice.

Tamara Spooner, New Mexico Veterinary Medical Association Executive Director, said Hanosh has contributed greatly to the veterinary community and to the entire state of New Mexico over the span of his career.

“Dr. Hanosh is respected immensely, and this recognition is very much deserved,” said Spooner. “We are very happy to be presenting him with this award.”

Under the direction of Hanosh, NMDA’s Veterinary Diagnostic Services Division became a fully-certified International Organization for Standardization (ISO) laboratory in 2018 for the first time in its existence. The ISO 17025 certification means the lab has met specific criteria to qualify as an accredited testing lab. The accreditation demonstrates the lab’s capacity to deliver reliable results.

The Veterinarian of the Year award will be presented Feb. 22 in Albuquerque.