Grande Openings

NATIONAL REPORT — Are new hospitals trending larger?

Two massive specialty veterinary hospitals, tipping the scales at 23,000 and 26,000 square feet, opened their doors last month on opposite coasts.

The doors swung open for the Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital, considered Boston's biggest, with plans to grow.

The Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital is now considered the largest privately owned hospital in the Boston region, and it plans to keep growing. The hospital anticipates increasing its staff 15 to 20 percent during the next three years and further expanding the treatment space to encompass the entire 44,000-square-foot building in which the hospital is housed.

The hospital also was funded in part through a $1-million loan as part of the Citizens' Job Bank, a nationally recognized program designed to spur the creation of new jobs.

"This purpose-built facility has been the culmination of a lifelong goal to provide the New England veterinary community with the finest specialty and referral hospital of its kind," says John K. Prentiss, DVM, president and CEO. "This new building will allow us to increase our services and staff and add medical technologies currently in high demand in the region, including a CT scanner and a linear accelerator for veterinary radiation oncology.

Mass Vet, a 24-hour emergency/ critical care and specialty hospital, is part of InTown Veterinary Group, owner of five hospitals serving metropolitan Boston.

Dove Lewis focuses on critical care emergencies

In Portland, Ore., Dove Lewis says it will be one of the premiere non-university affiliated critical care and emergency hospitals in the country. Opening late last month, the 23,000-square-foot facade was the result of two years of planning and research. It's considered state-of-the-art and built for growth, the non-profit Dove Lewis boasts.

The facility incorporates two treatment floors, two surgery suites, separate areas for radiology, ultrasound and special procedures. In addition, the hospital is offering an entire suite of community service programs, including a blood bank, animal-assisted therapies and pet-loss support. The hospital treats almost 15,000 animals a year.