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PULLMAN – Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital is now the only veterinary teaching facility in the west and one of only a handful in the country to be certified as a Level I facility by the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS).
According to VECCS, a Level I emergency and intensive care unit provides patients with emergency care for small animals 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and always has a full-time diploma from the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care for on-site or over-the-phone counseling.
“For the pet owner, this only means more security,” said Dr. Linda Martin, associate professor and senior veterinarian of the emergency and intensive care service at WSU. “We always try to do things better. Our goal is to continuously improve our service, be it for our customers, services for pets or educational opportunities for our students, interns and residents. “
WSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital is the largest veterinary referral center in the Pacific Northwest. On average, 10-12 emergencies are brought to the WSU every day, which corresponds to a total annual volume of 4,000 to 5,000 emergencies. The veterinary teaching hospital has been offering 24-hour daily care for animals in need of emergency care since it opened in 1996.
Martin said the certification would not have been completed had it not been for licensed veterinary technician Sarah Huston leading the project, assistant professor Dr. Beth Davidow had completed the process and the entire team came together as a unit.
The certification took a total of three years and was extended due to the ongoing pandemic. It involved Huston taking photos of equipment, making videos to indicate the level of care taken, writing logs, and recording the training and qualifications of the team.
“It was a lot of work, but I learned a lot about our hospital and our skills,” she said. “I am very proud to be part of a team capable of practicing the gold standard in veterinary medicine.”
Martin is also proud of her team.
“I love my team; they work really, really hard to get the job done every day,” said Martin. “We couldn’t have done it if it was just the doctors or the technicians. It happened because we all came together to finish it. “
