Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine has changed the name of its clinical facility to the Cornell University Hospital for Animals.

Formerly known as the Cornell University Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, the facility will continue to emphasize patient care, administrators say.

"Our faculty members believe that the new name better reflects the hospital's primary mission - the medical care of animals," said Robert O. Gilbert, BVSc, MMedVet, the college's associate dean for clinical programs and professional service, in discussing the name change. "As a teaching hospital where veterinary students, residents and interns learn their professional skills, we will continue to provide leadership in patient care, education, clinical investigation and scientific innovation. But it all comes down to animals; ultimately we're doing this for them," Gilbert said.

"The mission of the hospital has not changed - patient care still comes first and foremost," explained Bonita S. Voiland, the college's assistant dean for hospital operations. "Now we have a name that emphasizes what we do."

The new name was approved by the executive committee of the Cornell University Board of Trustees in December and became official March 22. The hospital moved into new, state-of-the-art facilities in 1996 and comprises three units:

• the Companion Animal Hospital, under the medical direction of William Miller, DVM;
• the Equine and Farm Animal Hospitals, under the medical direction of Norm Ducharme, DMV, MSc; and
• the traveling Ambulatory and Production Animal Medicine Service, under the leadership of section chief Maurice (Pete) White, DVM.

"The professional excellence of our veterinary medical staff, combined with the newest technologies and advanced techniques in medicine and surgery, assures the best health care for all of our animal patients, " explained Ducharme.

"Many of the hospital's patients with complicated medical or surgical problems are referred here by their veterinarians for evaluation here by our faculty specialists," according to Miller.

Serving the health-care needs of animal patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Cornell Hospital for Animals has a clinical faculty of 61, as well as 29 veterinary residents and interns. Licensed veterinary technicians and other hospital staff add another 110.

Specialty medicine services at the hospital include anesthesiology, behavioral medicine, cardiology, dentistry, dermatology, emergency medicine and critical care, equine performance testing clinic, farriery service, intensive care, internal medicine (including a new comparative cancer program), medical imaging, ophthalmology, soft-tissue and orthopedic surgery, theriogenology (reproductive health), and wildlife and exotic animal medicine (including zoo animal medicine).