Emergency, Critical Care and Anesthesia
In addition to emergency services, this section of board-certified specialists provides care for the most critically ill animals in the hospital. It also includes the anesthesia service. This unique structure ensures unparalleled interaction among specialists in several areas, including medicine, surgery, critical care and anesthesia, resulting in optimal care for the most complex cases.
The intensive care unit (ICU) consists of a specially designed neonatal intensive care wing and a surgical medical intensive care wing. This one-of-a-kind facility allows staff to monitor all patients from a central nursing station. The ICU also has a fully stocked pharmacy, intravenous infusion pumps to deliver medication as carefully controlled continuous infusions, a plasma bank, milk bank and colostrum bank serving all large animal species. Monitoring equipment includes ECG monitors, capnographs, pulse oximeters and direct and indirect blood pressure monitors.
The Connelly Intensive Care Unit for adult patients is equipped with a specially designed sling and monorail system that moves non-ambulatory patients in and out of the ICU. The climate-controlled building includes scales in the floor that allow for monitoring patient weight gain and loss, vital for regulating fluid balance in critically ill patients. All stalls in both the adult and neonatal wings are equipped with oxygen, medical air and suction lines to treat intensive care patients.
The Graham French Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is designed to accommodate the special needs of critically ill neonatal patients. It has wall mats to prevent injury, hardware for hanging intravenous infusion pumps, hot air blankets and other specialized equipment in each stall. Ventilators offer support for patients with respiratory problems. Specially designed stalls allow mares to see their foals without disrupting the neonate’s medical care.