Groundbreaking for new small animal hospital

November 17, 2008

WHAT: A groundbreaking ceremony for the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Education & Clinical Research Center, which includes a new state-of-the-art small animal hospital.

The $58 million facility has been years in the planning and will replace the existing original building, which has not undergone major renovation in 25 years. UF’s small animal hospital has an annual caseload of approximately 16,000 patients (inpatients and outpatients, including dogs, cats and exotic pets). Animals seen at the hospital come from all over Florida and the Southeast.

The 90,000 square-foot, three-story hospital will be triple the existing hospital’s size and will be located immediately north of the existing hospital site at the corner of Southwest 16th Avenue and Shealy Drive in Gainesville.

Hospital client access and patient examination rooms will be housed on the first floor, with separate waiting areas for dogs and cats. Nearby will be an intensive care unit and separate spaces for satellite digital radiography and ultrasonography, as well as the hospital pharmacy. The second floor will house a surgical operating suite, anesthesia preparation, monitoring and recovery areas, a rehabilitation/physical therapy suite, and an endoscopy suite. The third floor will consist primarily of faculty offices and meeting rooms.

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 21

WHERE: The ceremony will take place on the grounds of the future hospital site at the corner of Shealy Drive and Southwest 16th Avenue in Gainesville, immediately north of the existing small animal hospital. The event is open to the public, but RSVPs are requested because of space constraints. All media are welcome to attend.

CONTACT: For more information, call Sarah Carey at 352-392-2213, ext. 5206 or e-mail careys@vetmed.ufl.edu.