The Veterinary Teaching Hospital is a new facility which opened September
1996. The building provides 110,000 square feet of space with effective
separation of the large and small animal clinics. The central core provides
space for surgery suites for small and large animals, clinical pathology,
seminar rooms, administrative area, reception, pharmacy, special medicine
and diagnostics areas. The basement area houses the sterilization facility
and storage.
VIDEO TOUR:
Windows Media PlayerThe lobby is spacious and well lit by skylights and is divided
into several seating areas to allow separation of species.
A cast, recycled glass panel divides the lobby. The grass motif
was selected by the artist as grasses are at the bottom of the food
chain yet provide shelter and bedding. A turtle and 3 butterflies
can be seen.
Casts of actual sized animal tracks representing 22 species are
embedded in the terrazzo floor of the lobby.
SMALL ANIMAL
There are nine examination rooms for
small animal patients. One exam room is equipped with a one way
mirror. The intent is to observe animals, for example, during
breeding.
Small animal intensive care contains a
unique design of cages with "service stations" to supply medical
gases and house fluid pumps located adjacent to the cages. ICU is
well equipped with monitoring equipment and is staffed by trained
technicians.
The small animal medicine diagnostics
room is used for collecting samples and performing a multitude of
diagnostic procedures
There are also specialized
exam rooms for performance of specific procedures such as
endoscopy...
...and an electrically shielded room for performing neuro
diagnostic tests such as electroencephalograpy (EEG)
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The small animal nurses station is centrally
located in relationship to the intensive care unit and the
diagnostic rooms.
The dog kennel
rooms have a baffle system in the ceiling to reduce noise in
adjacent rooms. The cats are in a separate room from the dogs.
Specialized wards are designed to house
infectious patients, immune suppressed patients and those which are
radioactive.
The small animal surgery suites are spacious
to allow room for patient monitoring equipment and personnel. They
can accommodate a large group to observe a complicated surgery such
as this open-heart procedure.
The grooming and physical therapy room
contains a shower, deep tubs for swimming (patients) and a
whirlpool.
EXOTICS
The exotics ward has specialized cages to maintain a temperature
appropriate for the species and to prevent escape of those unique
patients including Napoleon the Merlin....
and Iggy the iguana
and a resident ferret.
LARGE ANIMAL
The barns are light by several skylights.
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EQUINE
The climate within the equine hospital is well regulated for
temperature and airflow providing fresh, odor-free air at all times.
The building is wired for computer technology and remote monitoring
of our equine patients.
Large treatment areas are available for examination of patients.
This is often the first area that clients visit when their patients
are admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
The breezeway of the clinic extends the length of the large
animal hospital area. On the left are aisleways leading to treatment
and stall areas. On the right are doors to additional examination
and treatment rooms as well as access to large animal surgery
suites. In the winter months, this large hallway provides an
excellent location for lameness and neurologic evaluations of
horses.
The paved area behind the large animal hospital is an excellent
location for performing detailed lameness evaluation of horses.
Multiple horses can be simultaneously examined.
Adjacent to the lameness examination area is a large round pen
with dirt footing for jogging, lunging, or riding horses as part of
a complete examination process.
Stalls are constructed of solid cinder block walls for ease of
disinfection and to prevent interaction of horses with adjacent
animals. The front of each stall consists of heavy wire mesh to
allow for optimal ventilation.
The intensive care unit allows maximum, continual observation of
critically ill patients. Two stalls in the equine ICU are specially
designed for treatment of premature and very sick foals.
There are several rooms in which to perform diagnostic tests
including laparoscopy.
The induction stalls have padded walls. A ceiling mounted hoist
is used to move the anesthetized horse to the surgery suite.
Following orthopedic surgery, horses are hoisted into this whirl
pool. Water blunts limb movement to reduce damage to the repaired
limb as the horse recovers. As the horse recovers a grated floor is
slowly raised for gradual weight bearing.
FOOD ANIMAL
An extensive system of chutes, gates and squeeze devices, assist
in the directed movement of animals.
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