Oregon State teaching hospital director named

Corvallis, Ore.

-- Dr. Helen Diggs has been named director of the Lois Bates Acheson Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Oregon State University.

Diggs, who also will serve as associate dean of OSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, will begin her new duties on Feb. 1.

She has directed the Office of Laboratory Animal Care at the University of California at Berkeley for the past 13 years, and is the consulting veterinarian for the entire University of California system.

Diggs also is vice president of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, and is scheduled to become the organization's president in 2010.

As director of OSU's Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Diggs, who earned her DVM from OSU in 1985, will oversee the operations and management of the hospital's activities and functions, including personnel, budgeting, marketing of clinical services and communication with clients and referring veterinarians.

The OSU hospital offers both primary care and referral service, handling about 7,000 cases a year across a range of animal species, including dogs, cats, horses, cattle and camelids. In addition, the hospital offers a field clinical service that reaches out to more than 6,000 cases a year.