New Bolton Center's Widener Hospital Open for Appointments
Monday, August 09, 2004
KENNETT SQUARE, PA -- Penn's George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals reopened on Monday, August 2,
2004 for scheduled appointments for equine patients. "We have to
limit the cases right now because we only have one of the hospital's
barns available," said Bruce Rappoport, director of the Widener
Hospital. "We are seeing patients in the sports medicine and
outpatient clinics as well as those scheduled for elective
surgeries. We cannot handle emergencies because of the limited
number of stalls available at the moment."
The Widener Hospital, located at New
Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa., closed May 10, 2004 to new
patients because of an outbreak of multidrug-resistant Salmonella
infection among some of the hospital's patients. Since the closing,
the entire hospital complex has been sandblasted, disinfected, and
repainted. Dirt barn floors have been removed and a new drainage
system and concrete floors have been installed. These floors are
covered with a special cushioning material that can be disinfected
easily. More than 2,000 cultures were performed on the buildings and
the resident animals. It was found that only a limited area of the
hospital cultured positive for the organism. None of the resident
animals cultured positive. Culturing continues prior to areas being
reopened to staff and patients.
While the hospital was closed, its
diagnostic laboratories remained open and the Field Service
continued to make farm calls. The Hofmann Center for Animal Reproduction
re-opened on May 27 for reproduction cases. It is located on a
different part of the New Bolton Center campus.
Additional biosecurity measures have
been instituted at the Widener Hospital and on the New Bolton Center
campus to protect the animal patients and the staff and faculty.
Access to barns and treatment areas is limited, disinfectant
footbaths are mandatory when entering each area, and new traffic
patterns have been established.
"We hope to be fully operational by
Labor Day," said Rappoport. "It has been an incredible effort to get
to this point. It would not have been possible without the great
dedication and hard work of the staff and faculty here. Everyone
pitched in and scrubbed, hosed, and fogged so we could open again.
Everyone here is committed to providing the best care for our
patients."
New Bolton Center is the large animal
campus of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary
Medicine. The telephone number for the George D. Widener Hospital
for Large Animals is 610-444-5800.
July 19, 2004
Download a
Salmonella Advisory from New Bolton Center (.pdf file)
fact sheet.
June 16, 2004 Update
Read the
news release.
May 27, 2004 Update
The
Georgia and Philip Hofmann Center for Animal Reproduction has
reopened. Read the
news release.
May 18, 2004 Update
The Center’s William B. Boucher Field Service has
relocated to a different part of the campus and continues to make
farm calls. The diagnostic laboratories are open and accepting samples
from practitioners.
May 14, 2004
The George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at New Bolton
Center, Penn's large animal facility, has been closed to new
patients for six to eight weeks, for decontamination of barn and
clinic buildings. Read the
news release
Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine is one of the world's premier veterinary schools. Founded in 1884, the School was built on the concept of Many Species, One Medicine™. The birthplace of veterinary specialties, the School serves a distinctly diverse array of animal patients, from pets to horses to farm animals at our two campuses. In Philadelphia, on Penn's campus, are the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital for companion animals, as well as classrooms, laboratories and the School's administrative offices. The large-animal facility, New Bolton Center, in Kennett Square, Pa., encompasses hospital facilities for the care of horses and food animals as well as diagnostic laboratories serving the agriculture industry. The School has successfully integrated scholarship and scientific discovery with all aspects of veterinary medical education.
Visit us on-line at www.vet.upenn.edu