To address the scope of need in our community and develop educational opportunities for Penn Vet students, Penn Vet has a surgical and medical mobile unit. A medical grade mobile clinic enables Penn Vet’s Shelter Medicine Program to increase teaching capacity and the quality and breadth of services provided to the sheltering community and underserved communities in the Philadelphia region.
About the Mobile Unit
The Penn Vet Shelter Medicine Mobile Unit…
- is a 40-foot trailer with a pulling truck, designed for functions of surgery, medicine/clinical assessment, and educational outreach.
- has the capacity to address emergency preparedness and animal cruelty response.
- has capacity to offer diagnostics such as microscopes/stain, radiographs, blood analyzer machines, and eventually dental radiographs, dental machines, and ultrasound to be effective in the field, making these advanced modalities available to our shelter facility partners.
- enables us to be flexible. As city areas change demographics, Penn Vet can react accordingly. Using information about local veterinary clinics, low cost clinics, and shelters, Penn Vet can complement the work being done by our current program partners and also institute outreach in underserved areas.
Preventative Care and Community Education
The Penn Vet Shelter Medicine mobile unit serves as an opportunity to provide preventative care, medical services, and selected surgical services to underserved, under-resourced communities. The mobile unit also provides a means to implement a comprehensive humane education and community outreach program. The mobile unit expands clinical capacity beyond our shelter partner facilities, can host trap-neuter-vaccinate-return programs, and advocate for animals in the community, allowing both veterinary students and members of the community to better understand companion animal welfare.