Vol. 38, No. 18

3-1-2006
By: Joni Bentz Seal

It is raining cats and dogs at the OSU vet hospital

Each year, nearly 23,000 patients from around the country journey to Columbus seeking innovative health care from a top-tier teaching hospital.

They come for MRIs, hip replacements, cataract surgery and cancer treatment, as well as their annual check-ups and vaccinations, but they are not visiting Ohio State's Medical Center.

For these four-legged patients - possessing excessive hair and halitosis - the university's nationally renowned veterinary hospital is the more fitting facility to treat what ails them.

Located on Vernon L. Tharp Street on the Columbus campus, the hospital consists of two clinics: one for companion animals and one for equine and farm animals. Some 550 veterinary students work side by side with board-certified veterinarians and researchers who are bringing the latest advancements in veterinary medicine to the examining table.

"Ohio State was the first institution to create a residency program for veterinary students, which coincided with the opening of the hospital in 1973," said Richard Bednarski, director of the hospital. "Nearly all of the 32 veterinary colleges in North America have since followed suit."

With specialties such as neurology, oncology, orthopedics and equine medicine and surgery, the hospital receives most patients through veterinarian referral. However, Bednarski emphasizes that, because of the university's land-grant mission, the hospital also is open to the community for primary care and has emergency service at both clinics.

"Our mission is to teach vet students and provide training for post-doctorates who want to specialize in an area we offer," Bednarski said, adding that students see fewer patients than they would at an off-site, for-profit clinic. Here, they have the chance to examine the animals, interact with their owners and ask questions of the veterinarians because they are not rushed. They also get to spend time in each specialty. "We are designed to provide a comprehensive education in one facility, rather than just an observatory," Bednarski said.

Another important factor, he said, is the hospital's link to basic science and research. For example, the College of Veterinary Medicine developed the feline leukemia vaccination that is used worldwide today and was a pioneer in total hip replacement in animals. Currently under evaluation is cementless hip replacement, a new technique in lens replacement for cataract patients, and the viability of leg prostheses for large animals.

"Working with other areas of the university, we are able to capitalize on the progress being made in human medicine and incorporate many of those techniques in treating animals," Bednarski explained. "We practice a 'one medicine' model, where scientists are learning about the next great thing we can do to improve animal health and then applying it in the clinic. This gives our students hands-on experience on the leading-edge of the field, so we're graduating scientists, not just clinicians."
Hospital of the future

Finding room to accommodate several hundred students and the equipment required to perform ever-increasing research has caused the hospital to outgrow its current building. Plans are underway, however, to launch a capital campaign to fund a new building - to be constructed just east of the current facility - that would house the companion animal clinic and free the current hospital's space for expansion of the equine and farm animal clinic.

"Our primary infrastructure goal is to build a new veterinary teaching and research hospital in the next five years with other teaching and research buildings to follow," said Dean Tom Rosol. "While the new hospital will not be possible without significant philanthropy because of the reduced level of state funds available for capital projects, we hope to one day offer Ohio State veterinary students better learning opportunities, and allow animals to benefit from greater medical advancements than we do today."

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