Gainesville’s newest hospital is home to 12 custom surgical suites, a state-of-the-art cancer center and one of the only interventional cardiology facilities in the nation, but the doctors won’t be treating you there. They’ll care for your pets.
It is the only small-animal hospital of its kind, and it belongs to the UF College of Veterinary Medicine.
The new hospital will have a grand opening event open to the public on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. It will begin accepting patients Nov. 1.
Paid for by state funding and private donors, this three-story, 100,000-square-foot, $58 million hospital features everything from arthroscopy to acupuncture.
According to the hospital’s fact sheet, the new facility provides 22 examination rooms, larger treatment areas, 24-hour emergency care and an intensive care unit.
According to Glen F. Hoffsis, dean of the UF Veterinary College, the most notable improvements over the current small-animal hospital are the increased space for patient care and ability to teach veterinary students.
Hoffsis said the design of the building puts equal concentration on teaching, patient care and client welfare.
“It’s a beautiful building,” he said. “I’ve never seen a building designed so well for this purpose.”
The hospital also features a stereotactic linear accelerator that is used to treat cancer cells. This machine, which is rarely featured in veterinary hospitals, is also used at the McKnight Brain Institute at UF. Hoffsis said that its addition was partially due to an increasing demand for cancer treatment of clients’ pets.
One veterinary education innovation in the hospital is surgical suite cameras that can transmit live video of procedures to classrooms, giving students a view that was previously exclusive to surgeons.
Jonathan Mathers, a fourth-year veterinary student, has already toured the hospital and said that it is more modern and spacious than the current hospital.
“It gives you the feeling that you’re part of something great,” Mathers said.
Another difference Mathers mentioned is the addition of “rounds rooms,” which he described as places where students can work without getting in the way of hospital business.
Although anyone may bring an animal into the hospital without an appointment, Hoffsis said the college generally treats patients requiring advanced care that are referred by other veterinarians.
Prices for most procedures are comparable to other specialized animal hospitals, but basic care is similar to that of a local veterinary practice.
