Three specialty hospitals form partnership

TAMPA, FLA. — Three veterinary specialty hospitals from different parts of the country merged under a new partnership known as BluePearl Veterinary Partners, the principals of which say they will offer a new paradigm in veterinary medicine.

Joining forces are Florida Veterinary Specialists and Cancer Treatment Center in Tampa, NYC Veterinary Specialists and Cancer Treatment Center in New York City and Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center in Kansas City.

"Our goal is to set a new standard for referral practices," says Neil Shaw, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, BluePearl's chief medical officer. "I believe that we represent the future of veterinary medicine."

Shaw founded the Tampa hospital in 1996 and the New York City hospital in 2006.

His BluePearl partner is Jeff Dennis, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, an internal medicine specialist at the Kansas City hospital.

The partners say the merger, which brings together more than 100 veterinarians, developed in part because the three hospitals share a similar mission.

They offer a five-point commitment to the communities they will serve: exceptional patient care and client service, not providing routine or prophylactic care, operating strictly by referral, calling and mailing a written report for every referral and promising to have a clinician always available to consult with colleagues who call.

"I believe we offer a new paradigm ... in which the general practitioner is strengthened through their relationship with us," says Shaw. "We are completely an extension of their practice, to be used at their discretion."