Nine veterinary hospitals designated as national trauma center network

The American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC) has approved nine veterinary hospitals and clinics in the United States to be conditionally identified as Veterinary Trauma Centers, the first step in an effort to create a network of leading hospitals that will serve to stimulate development of trauma systems nationwide, according to a press release issued by Tufts University.

This first wave of recognized trauma facilities, listed below, was given the distinction by the ACVECC Veterinary Committee on Trauma and will collectively act as a model for high standards of care and the improvement of trauma patient management outcomes.

> Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital (Irvine, Calif.)

> VCA West Los Angeles (Los Angeles)

> BluePearl Veterinary Partners—Tampa (Tampa, Fla.)

> University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital (Urbana, Ill.)

> Tufts Foster Hospital for Small Animals at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine (North Grafton, Mass.)

> University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center (St. Paul, Minn.)

> North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine (Raleigh, N.C.)

> Oradell Animal Hospital (Paramus, N.J.)

> University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Philadelphia)

In order to be designated as a trauma center, each of these hospitals had to be able to provide round-the-clock care for every aspect of management of the small animal trauma patient, from emergency stabilization to medical and surgical care and rehabilitation. They also had to have board-certified specialists available for consultation seven days a week in the fields of emergency and critical care, surgery and radiology.

“This new designation creates a standard of care in veterinary medicine that didn’t previously exist and provides pet owners with important information in the event of a trauma-related emergency,” says Armelle de Laforcade, DVM, DACVECC, of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, in a written statement. “Receiving care at a certified trauma center with the necessary resources in place may help improve survival rates for the most severely traumatized patient.”

In addition to providing resources for small animal trauma patients and meeting high standards of care, these trauma centers will also provide leadership in education and research with the goal of creating a database of information that can be shared among multiple trauma centers.

“By working collaboratively with leaders in the veterinary trauma field throughout the country, advancements in trauma care will be shared between centers rapidly, assuring the most severely injured patients have access to the most advanced therapies,” says Kelly Hall, DVM, DACVECC, coordinator of the University of Minnesota’s Animal Trauma Center and chair of the ACVECC’s trauma committee, in a written statement.

An ACVECC subcommittee will work with the trauma centers throughout the year to ensure all of the guidelines and requirements continue to be met.