The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine is moving closer to starting the renovation and expansion of its 37-year-old Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
The university’s governing board authorized spending $4.3 million to complete the project’s design work.
“This expansion will increase the number of patients and clients that receive timely, compassionate and cutting-edge clinical care while notably improving the experience of faculty, staff and students through an improved hospital environment,” said the college’s dean, Dr. M. Daniel Givens.
According to the university, “The size and scope of the project will depend, in part, on philanthropy. Veterinary college leaders hope to add up to 42,000 square feet to the facility and are engaged in a roughly $9 million fundraising campaign for the project.”
The Blacksburg, Virginia, hospital was built in 1987 and typically sees more than 13,000 dogs and cats and cares for 1,900 pets overnight annually.
“Space has always been a challenge, and the challenge has increased as services, techniques and new modalities for diagnosis and treatment have been added,” said Marion Ehrich, professor emerita and co-director of the Laboratory for Neurotoxicity Studies. “Teaching hospitals should be up to date.”
The expansion requires additional board approval before construction can begin, but college leaders hope to break ground in about two years.
The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine is the dual veterinary school for Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland.