The College of Veterinary Medicine is receiving a huge, long-awaited upgrade to its nationally respected animal hospital.
The Randall B. Terry, Jr. Companion Animal Veterinary Medical Center will make the CVM’s hospital even more advanced, according to David Bristol, acting dean of the CVM.
“The new technology being deployed in the hospital will allow us to provide a much higher level of patient care,” Bristol said.
Operating rooms will be equipped with cameras, which will feed through a processor students can access, according to Bristol.
“[Students] will be able to watch surgeries in great detail, whether or not they are scrubbed in to assist,” Bristol said.
The facility is named in honor of Randall B. Terry, Jr., a businessman, newspaper publisher and philanthropist who developed a special affection for the CVM after one of his nine golden retrievers, Nike, received medical care there in 1998.
Terry, who passed away in 2004, was the president of the N.C. Veterinary Medicine Foundation and a champion of veterinary medicine, according to the College of Veterinary website.
The R.B. Terry, Jr. Charitable Foundation partnered with the CVM to form a true public-private relationship, allowing the creation of the new facility, according to Bristol.
State appropriations covered $34 million of the entire $74 million project, and the Terry Foundation will handle the rest of the funding for the project.
The new facility will not only be used to provide exceptional care to patients, but also provide a quality learning experience for veterinary students, according to Bristol.
“[The Terry Center] will be used to provide the highest level of patient care, teach veterinary students and conduct population studies of responses to new therapies,” Bristol said.
For Danielle Lindquist, a senior in zoology, the new Terry Center will be beneficial not only to current students in the CVM, but also to undergraduate pre-veterinary students.
“This means for pre-veterinary students, we will be able to be close to cutting-edge medicine, learn from professors and truly become stronger and well-rounded applicants,” Lindquist said.
Applicants for the CVM, the third-ranked vet school in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report, already must show a high level of achievement, Bristol said. The new Terry Center could increase the number of applications and, in turn, increase the quality of the CVM’s students.
“The Terry Center increases capacity for senior students, but it doesn’t impact the room we have for teaching in the first three years of the program,” Bristol said. “The recent increase in our national rankings from number five to number three could increase the number of applications we receive, and thus make our acceptance rate decline.”
Lindquist, who is also the president of the Pre-Veterinary Club for the 2011-2012 school year, said she thinks the Terry Center will be more than a hospital.
“The Terry Center will be a leader in providing the best care along with teaching the future of veterinary medicine,” Lindquist said.
Kelly Cunningham, a sophomore in zoology, is considering several different veterinary schools upon completing her undergraduate studies.
“[The Terry Center] will certainly be taken into consideration as a benefit if I end up having the option to choose between multiple vet schools,” Cunningham said.
The most exciting part of the new facility for Cunningham will be the increased capacity.
“I am most excited for the increased number of patients the hospital will be able to accommodate and the resulting variety of medical conditions students will be able to experience,” Cunningham said.
According to Bristol, the Terry Center will be dedicated in a ceremony May 6. It is expected to open mid-June.
