Arizona Hospital Earns Level 1 VECCS Certification
The Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Society has awarded Level 1 certification to the Arizona Regional Intensive Care, Specialty & Emergency Veterinary Center. The suburban Phoenix practice became the state’s only Level 1 certified facility. According to VECCS, ARISE Veterinary Center is “one of only two veterinary facilities in Arizona offering extracorporeal blood purification therapies and the only one providing it on an emergency basis.”
COE Develops Distance Education Policies
The American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education has approved new policies on distance education. According to AVMA News, “These policies do not allow clinical training to be delivered via DE. Online learning can supplement laboratory and clinical skills instruction but cannot replace hands-on, in-person training.” Details are at bit.ly/4jQg9En.
Lyon College Receives $11 Million Shelter Medicine Gift
The Arkansas Animal Rescue Foundation has donated $11 million to establish the Katharine Reese Shelter Medicine and Animal Welfare Program at the Lyon College School of Veterinary Medicine. Nearly half of the amount is earmarked to endow a professorship in shelter medicine and animal welfare. Lyon’s veterinary program is awaiting a letter of reasonable assurance of accreditation from the Council on Education before enrolling the first class.
Pet Owners May Use CareCredit at Texas A&M
CareCredit is now accepted as a client financing option at all 29 public university veterinary hospitals nationwide. The latest financing partner is the Texas A&M University Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. CareCredit is recommended by the American Animal Hospital Association and is a preferred partner of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Lovet Expands Into Michigan
Lovet Pet Health Care, which operates 23 clinics around Phoenix and one in Chicago, has opened its 25th location. The new Grand Rapids, Michigan, practice offers urgent and primary veterinary care, same-day appointments, free first exams for new clients, and weekend hours.
Referral Hospital Opens in Suburban Atlanta
Arista Advanced Pet Care has opened a specialty referral and emergency hospital in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Arista Atlanta’s board-certified veterinarians include Drs. Amirah Nasr (internal medicine), Brolin Evans (oncology) and Abby Lockwood (surgery).
Simparica Trio Fights Flea Tapeworms
A new label indication for Zoetis’s Simparica Trio covers flea tapeworm infections. “With this approval, Simparica Trio is the only canine combination parasiticide indicated to prevent flea tapeworm infections at the source by killing vector fleas before transmission,” Zoetis reported.
Fort Worth to Host Heartworm Symposium
The American Heartworm Society will hold its Triennial Heartworm Symposium on Sept. 4 to 7 in Fort Worth, Texas. Attendees may earn up to 22 continuing education credits. More information is at bit.ly/3EBxIt6.
FelineVMA Issues Statement on Feral Kittens
The Feline Veterinary Medical Association has released a position statement on the socialization of feral kittens. The organization stated that it supports the integration of newly homed companion kittens through appropriate socialization and habituation. The position statement is posted at bit.ly/4m3lzOy.
Texas Specialty Hospital Gets a Bigger Home
Heart of Texas Veterinary Specialty Center in Round Rock, Texas, has moved to a custom-built location seven miles away. The new hospital is 64% larger at 15,372 square feet. According to owner Thrive Pet Healthcare, “In 2023, Heart of Texas became the U.S.’s first combined emergency and specialty hospital to receive Fear Free Veterinary Practice Certification.”