Winning innovations span feline patient comfort, early disease detection, exotic-animal preventive care and predictive veterinary medicine

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — From a simple solution designed to make hospitalized cats more comfortable to technology capable of identifying disease risk years earlier, four ideas took top honors at the inaugural CareVet Clinical Outcomes Showcase, celebrating innovations helping move veterinary medicine forward.

CareVet announced the winners during the 2026 Clinical Outcomes Showcase Awards Gala in Nashville, where Veterinary Students, Team Members, Veterinarians and industry organizations gathered to recognize ideas with the potential to create better outcomes for patients, clients and veterinary teams.

The 2026 category winners are:

• Rising Star Award: Kristen Slagle, Oklahoma State University
• Veterinary Technician and Team Member Award: Sarah Wilmes, Binder Animal Hospital
• Veterinarian Award: Dr. Samantha Gruenwald, Frankenmuth-Birch Run Veterinary Hospital
• Veterinary Corporation and Group Award: Pointer Health

“What makes these winning ideas so exciting is how different they are — and yet they all start with the same question: How can we do better for the next patient?” said Dr. Kent Thornberry, President, Co-Founder and Chief Veterinary Officer of CareVet. “Some are remarkably simple. Others use emerging technology. But every one of them has the potential to make veterinary care more proactive, thoughtful and effective.”

Rising Star Award: Kristen Slagle

Kristen Slagle of Oklahoma State University earned the 2026 Rising Star Award for an innovative solution designed to improve the experience of hospitalized feline patients.

Cats often experience less stress when they have a secure place to hide, but traditional hiding boxes can make continuous observation difficult for veterinary teams. Slagle proposed a clear hideaway box lined with perforated privacy film, allowing a hospitalized cat to experience the security of a darkened, enclosed space while still enabling the veterinary team to see and monitor the patient.

The concept brings together two important elements of feline hospitalization: supporting patient comfort and maintaining clinical visibility.

By addressing both, Slagle’s idea offers a practical way to support Fear Free principles and potentially create a less stressful hospital experience for cats and the veterinary professionals caring for them.

Veterinary Technician and Team Member Award: Sarah Wilmes

Sarah Wilmes of Binder Animal Hospital received the Veterinary Technician and Team Member Award for solving a challenge familiar to veterinary teams everywhere: a recommended diagnostic test cannot help a patient if the hospital never receives the sample.

Wilmes and her team developed prepaid sample-collection kits containing the supplies and instructions clients need to collect and return urine, stool or both following their pet’s appointment.

The process makes completing recommended testing easier for clients while helping veterinary teams improve diagnostic follow-through.

The results are already measurable. In 2025 alone, more than 1,000 prepaid samples were returned to Binder Animal Hospital for analysis, supporting earlier disease detection and more consistent monitoring of chronic conditions.

The innovation demonstrates that improving clinical outcomes does not always require complicated technology. Sometimes, removing one small barrier can make a significant difference.

Veterinarian Award: Dr. Samantha Gruenwald

Dr. Samantha Gruenwald of Frankenmuth-Birch Run Veterinary Hospital was named the 2026 Veterinarian Award winner for her work bringing a more proactive approach to exotic-animal medicine.

Exotic pets such as birds, reptiles, aquatic species and small mammals are frequently presented to veterinary hospitals only after illness has developed. Dr. Gruenwald’s approach incorporates preventive wellness into every exotic-animal encounter, even when the original appointment was scheduled for an illness, grooming or another concern.

Her framework evaluates species-specific husbandry, nutrition, preventive health risks and appropriate screening while providing owners with tailored education and recommendations for continued wellness care.

Through routine weight and body-condition monitoring, nutritional counseling and earlier screening, the approach is already helping identify disease sooner, improve acceptance of diagnostics and prevent recurring husbandry-related conditions.

Its influence has extended beyond the hospital as well. Following Dr. Gruenwald’s educational outreach, a local pet store transitioned its budgies and parakeets to pelleted diets, helping new owners begin with healthier nutritional practices from the start.

Veterinary Corporation and Group Award: Pointer Health

Pointer Health earned the Veterinary Corporation and Group Award for a prognostic medicine platform designed to help veterinarians identify elevated disease risk before traditional clinical recognition.

Using predictive and causal modeling, the platform analyzes information already contained within a patient’s longitudinal medical record to create individualized risk assessments across more than 170 conditions — without requiring additional testing, equipment or significant workflow changes.

Instead of relying solely on population averages, Pointer Health evaluates meaningful changes within an individual animal’s own medical history and baseline. Those insights can then help veterinarians and pet owners make more informed decisions about monitoring, screening, lifestyle changes and preventive care.

In a 2025 practice pilot, hospitals using the platform saw increased participation in bloodwork, wellness testing, urinalysis and dental prophylaxis, demonstrating the potential for personalized risk information to strengthen both client engagement and clinical follow-through.

The platform reflects a larger opportunity in veterinary medicine: shifting care from reacting to disease once symptoms appear toward recognizing risk earlier and intervening sooner.

Different Ideas. One Shared Goal.

The four winning innovations reflect the range of ideas celebrated through the Clinical Outcomes Showcase.

One reimagines a feline hideaway box. Another improves a familiar hospital process. One changes how preventive care is delivered to an underserved patient population. And one applies sophisticated predictive modeling to information veterinary teams already have.

Together, they demonstrate that progress in veterinary medicine can come from anywhere.

“The goal of this Showcase was never to suggest there is only one definition of innovation,” Thornberry said. “It was to create a place where people across veterinary medicine could share what they are learning, challenge the way things have always been done and help the rest of the profession see what might be possible. These four winners embody exactly that.”

The inaugural Clinical Outcomes Showcase recognized innovations from veterinary students, technicians and team members, veterinarians and organizations across the profession. Finalists were evaluated based on the merit of their ideas, their potential impact and their ability to contribute to improved outcomes in veterinary medicine.

CareVet plans to continue the Clinical Outcomes Showcase, giving veterinary professionals and organizations an ongoing platform to share ideas, learn from one another and help raise the standard of care.

About CareVet

CareVet is a network of veterinary hospitals committed to providing exceptional care for pets while supporting the veterinary professionals who make that care possible. Through initiatives focused on clinical outcomes, professional growth and collaboration across the veterinary community, CareVet works to help veterinary teams thrive and advance the standard of care.

CareVet | Sam Weber
sweber@carevethealth.com 

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SOURCE CareVet