Oregon State University has officially joined the 24 7 emergency club for cats and dogs, and for veterinary professionals across Oregon and beyond, this is a big deal. The Lois Bates Acheson Veterinary Teaching Hospital is now offering round the clock small animal emergency care for both walk ins and referrals, expanding access for pet owners while strengthening real world training for future veterinarians.
For Dr. Pia Martiny, assistant professor of clinical sciences at OSU Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine and head of the small animal emergency service, the move was a necessary step in the hospital’s evolution into a fully functioning multispecialty center. Emergency cases are not just inevitable in a referral hospital setting. They are essential to training clinicians who can think fast, work collaboratively and manage patients that often need complex and ongoing care. The new emergency service focuses exclusively on cats and dogs. Exotic species such as birds, reptiles and rabbits are still best served by species specific practices. Large animal emergency services for livestock and horses have already been available at OSU on a 24 7 basis for years, making the addition of small animal emergency care a natural expansion.
Although the service officially launched recently, it has been building quietly for about a year. The hospital soft launched emergency care on a case by case basis while staffing and infrastructure scaled up. On a typical day, the ER is staffed with one to two receiving doctors, up to four final year veterinary students and as many as three certified veterinary nurses per shift. Like most emergency facilities, staffing and capacity can fluctuate depending on hospital volume. Geography plays a major role in the need for another emergency option. Corvallis is a key access point for pet owners traveling from the Oregon Coast and the mid Willamette Valley. When nearby emergency clinics hit capacity, options become limited quickly. OSU also receives referrals from several hours away, including clients traveling south from Washington…