Spring Break
New vet hospital to help meet growing demands
VIVIAN GIANG
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News
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Take a walk down the corridors of the University's veterinary teaching hospital and the frenzy of commotion approaches as a baby-like wail echoes from one end, a dog brushes past on his way to the pre-operation room and carts loaded with equipment line up along the hallways.
An $80 million plan for a new veterinary teaching hospital has been in the works for years, but execution has yet to be determined.
"It really depends on the funding - trying to raise money and [waiting for] state appropriation," said Tracy Giese, director of public relations for the College of Veterinary Medicine. "We've had children decide not to have birthday presents and instead asked their friends to bring in small gifts [for the hospital] … we've had gifts of that small to gifts of more than a million dollars."
Because there are only 28 veterinary schools in the country, the University's hospital has patients come from as far as Virginia, Giese said.
With a wide range of specialized care and expert physicians, the University's teaching hospital is a referral hospital for pet owners throughout the state and region. For those who live within 30 miles, the hospital is their veterinary clinic, but veterinaries from all over the Southeast refer clients to the teaching hospital when cases get too complicated.
Framed photos of graduates line the hallways, showing soaring enrollment since the college was founded in 1946. The school admits 96 students each fall, yet there are approximately 550 applicants per year - one student is accepted for every four turned away.
"There's a dire need for vets, but unfortunately, we can only handle 96 [per class] right now because we're on top of each other," said Karen Aiken, client advocate and development officer for the teaching hospital. "We're limited as to how many we can take - it's like a human hospital."
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