UT opens $10 million expansion of veterinary hospital

Knoxville, Tenn. - 5/9/08 - There's plenty of extra space to accommodate patients and several new services at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine's (UTCVM) small-animal teaching hospital, with the formal opening of a 32,000-square-foot addition.

The $10 million expansion, under construction since last winter, opened for business when college officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the end of April.

The small-animal hospital's patient caseload has increased more than 70 percent since it opened in 1978. The new facilities include an isolation suite for animals with infectious diseases plus other new services, including medical oncology, radiation therapy, canine physical rehabilitation and therapy and avian and zoological medicine. The expansion also houses a linear accelerator to treat cancer patients with radiation therapy, a heated therapy pool and two underwater treadmills.

"When the college was built more than 30 years ago, it was never anticipated the facility would need to accommodate the approximately 15,000 small animals we currently treat each year," says Dr. Leon Potgieter, UTCVM interim dean.

"The veterinary program, like all programs at UT, is another window to the public. Clients who come here see the university in a different light, and it's important they see we're on the cutting edge of veterinary medicine," says UT Vice President for Agriculture Dr. Joseph DiPietro.

The college has built a national reputation in avian/zoological medicine and canine physical rehabilitation and therapy, and the new facility "will allow UTCVM to push the bar of contemporary educational standards to a new level," says Dr. Robert DeNovo, associate dean for Administration and Clinical Programs.

The college is working on funding to expand its large-animal teaching hospital in the future.