We align pet health with human health systems to create a more effective, coordinated, and holistic approach to family wellbeing.
AlignCare Health is a national nonprofit working to integrate pets into the future of public health. We create policies, partnerships, and evidence-based solutions that make pet care part of family care.
Pets make healthier families.
Research shows that pets improve mental, physical, and social health. But for millions of families, access to pet care is out of reach. When pets or family members become ill, families often face impossible choices that ripple through every aspect of their lives. When pets are cared for and incorporated into human healthcare planning, families are healthier and more stable, and healthcare systems benefit.
What We Do
We Integrate Pets Into Public Health
AlignCare empowers health, social service, and veterinary systems to adopt and implement practices that recognize pets as part of the family unit and a critical element of human health.
We Drive Policies That Enable Programs
We develop legislative policies, funding models, and frameworks that make pet-inclusive care possible across communities. Our work creates the foundation for systems that keep families together.
We Catalyze Systems Change
By synthesizing research, building coalitions, and advocating for pets as social determinants of health (SDoH), we turn evidence about the human–animal bond into action, shaping how health systems, funders, and communities care for families.
AlignCare Health is a national thought leader and catalyst for systemic change in public health policy and delivery that advocates for integrating pets as a core social determinant of family health and wellbeing.
Originating from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s Program for Pet Health Equity, AlignCare evolved from a multi-city pilot that demonstrated how access to veterinary care can stabilize families, reduce stress, and improve human health outcomes, particularly among low-income households.
Building on what those pilots revealed, AlignCare has transitioned its focus from direct service delivery to the upstream systems that affect access to care. The organization works to break down the structural barriers that prevent families from caring for both their pets and themselves, positioning pets as vital social determinants of health that influence emotional, physical, and social wellbeing. Through policy development and cross-sector collaboration, AlignCare is working to remove obstacles for pet families and align health systems.
About AlignCare
Collaborate With Us
Are you a policymaker, human health funder, researcher, or leader in the human or veterinary health sector? Let’s chat!
Please note that we are not a veterinary provider and do not provide direct veterinary assistance. Visit pethelpfinder.org to locate service resources.