The University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital reopened on March 25 at its new location on College Station Road. The facility is expected to allow the hospital to better meet its current patient care demands and the educational needs of the college. The hospital is part of the new Veterinary Medical Center, which also includes a covered equine performance arena; a building dedicated to field services, production medicine and theriogenology; and an education building for teaching and continuing education courses. The previous hospital, which opened in 1979, handled more than 24,500 visits per year in one of the smallest veterinary teaching hospitals in the United States. Now, the hospital will operate out of a building more than double the size of the old facility, the university noted. Other highlights include: flexible design to meet current needs and to allow for future expansion; numerous teaching spaces, including a dedicated rounds room for each service; expanded imaging capabilities and radiation therapy for all species; open lobbies and corridors with picturesque windows to let in natural light; an outdoor courtyard and green space around the buildings; dining area for clients, faculty, staff and students; and a physical address that can be found easily using GPS. “This facility will allow the college to be on more equal footing with peer veterinary hospitals in the Southeast and across the country,” said Gary Baxter, VMD, Dipl. ACVS, hospital director. “This was an essential step to be able to attract the highest-caliber faculty, staff, interns, residents and students to the University of Georgia and to further improve clinical teaching, client service and patient care within the hospital.” The UGA Community Practice Clinic, which offers wellness services—vaccinations, dentistry, wellness exams and other services—to small companion animals, remains at its current location on the main college campus.
