College expands facilities to accommodate growing pains

Primary Care and Dentistry building addition.

An addition to the UF Small Animal Hospital will afford more space for teaching in the primary care and dentistry service. The new building, located adjacent to the main hospital, opened to clients on March 11.

Almost a decade after opening its award-winning small animal hospital, the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine has expanded its facilities to better train its veterinary students to meet professional demands and to accommodate the rapid growth of the hospital’s emergency and critical care service.

Construction of a new $6 million, two-story addition, located adjacent to the main hospital, wrapped up in February and will provide more spacious accommodations for primary care and dentistry services, as well as additional offices for administrative personnel. The addition adds approximately 12,000 square feet to the existing 100,000-square-foot building, and makes room for expanded emergency and critical care needs.

Since the main hospital opened in 2010, clients of the primary care and dentistry service shared an entrance and lobby with emergency clients. The renovation allows separating these distinct areas of care and patient needs.

The original ground-floor space is being remodeled for efficiency and expanded emergency and critical care services to better accommodate emergency referrals from local and statewide veterinary clinicians and agencies. Pet patients, once stabilized, also can be seamlessly transferred to primary care as needed.

An open house for college faculty, staff and students was held Feb. 22, with a reception and open house for donors. The new building opened its doors to clients on March 11.