The Lois Bates Acheson Veterinary Teaching Hospital now has a pair of videos on their website. The Small Animal Hospital video takes the viewer on a tour of the hospital from a dog’s-eye point of view, and has been on the website for nearly a year.

Just last week, a new video featuring equine medicine was added to the website. Check it out.

Stan and Judy Stearns are the founders of the non-profit The Gabriel Institute whose purpose is to support research to find a cure for canine bone cancer. The Stearns also hope that the tools and knowledge developed by the institute will ultimately benefit children who are diagnosed with bone cancer.

The Gabriel Institute is named in honor of the Stearn’s beloved Saint Bernard, Gabe who was treated for bone cancer by the OSU Veterinary Hospital in 2007.

Interview with radiologist Sarah Nemanic on KEZI-TV.
More photos of the dedication.
Related story in the Gazette-Times.

The evaluator, Ms. Britta Lynch, RVT, also performed accreditation visits in 2006 (initial visit) and 2008. She was especially impressed with the hospital’s growth and development over these five years. She also mentioned the presence of an esprit de corps within the hospital that she had not noticed as strongly on previous visits.

Special thanks go to Mandy Seals who organized the visit and ensured that documentation was complete and all participating areas were prepared; Drs. Helio de Morais and Jana Gordon who helped update hospital Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in response to the AAHA Standards; Alyssa Tucker and animal attendants who make the hospital shine ‘everyday’; Sherry Sisson, who took over supervision of Central Sterile this summer, and with the staff freshened and reorganized  the work area and streamlined procedures to increase efficiency; Pat Hutson who upgraded the VTH intranet site and linked hospital SOPs and Policies to the AAHA Standards; the CVM Facilities Crew (Ryan Mitchell, Steve Lehto, and Terry Robertson) who keep our physical plant in excellent repair.

AAHA is respected internationally for its hospital accreditation standards. Approximately 3,000 veterinary hospitals hold the “AAHA-accredited” designation. AAHA developed the Accreditation Program to increase loyalty and teamwork among veterinary staff members and provide a way for veterinary hospitals to demonstrate their excellence to their communities and clients.

“Periodic assessment gives us an opportunity for internal review and to reevaluate and, as necessary, update our procedures and policies. It is also an affirmation of our outstanding program,” Dr. Diggs added.

The Veterinary Dairy Barn is the only pre-World War II barn still standing on campus. [OSU Archives #41.] The barn was designed by John Bennes, a significant OSU architect, during his tenure from 1909 through the late 1930s. It is a contributing resource within the OSU National Historic District.

Green = Compost

• Fruit and veggie remains
• Compostable plates/utensils
• Coffee grounds
• Tea bags (remove staples or other metal)
• Popcorn, peanut shells
• Grain remains (bread crusts, old pasta, etc.)
• Shredded newspaper
• NO MEAT, DAIRY, OR EGG PRODUCTS

Blue = CVM Recycling

• Plastic containers (yogurt, lids, lunch trays)
• Coffee cup LIDS ONLY
• Tin and aluminum cans
• Paper/cardboard
• Glass
• Foil

Yellow = Alternative Co-Op Materials

• Plastic films (plastic bags, chip bags, saran-wrap)
• Plastic utensils
• Freezer containers
• Batteries
• Styrofoam

The new outdoor composting center was built over spring break and is now fully functional. A grant was written to the Student Sustainability Initiative on the main campus that funded the entire project. The green compost bins will be emptied into the outdoor system and, once composted, will be used around the Magruder Hall plant beds.

By our location on the Pacific Rim and our busy port traffic, Oregon is particularly vulnerable to the possible spread of FMD from the Korean outbreak. Dr. Don Hansen, Oregon’s State Veterinarian, is working hard to increase the public’s awareness of this situation. Of particular concern are returning visitors and military service personnel who might have been on affected premises in Korea and could unknowingly bring the virus to Oregon. Introduction of the FMD virus to Oregon would be disastrous to our economy.

Time is crucial to the effective control of an outbreak of FMD or any other foreign animal disease. Diagnosis, quarantine, depopulation, and surveillance cannot be delayed. As a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory plays a critical and time sensitive role in Oregon’s preparedness for an outbreak of FMD. The NAHLN, established by the USDA in cooperation with the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, is a network of state/university laboratories distributed across the country that not only perform routine diagnostic testing for endemic diseases, but are also approved by USDA to conduct surveillance and response testing for foreign animal diseases, such as FMD, Classical Swine
Fever, Exotic Newcastle Disease, and Avian Influenza. As such, they are able to support the diagnostic services of the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, at the state level. The geographic accessibility of these laboratories shortens the time to confirmation of FMD infection, allowing our state and federal veterinarians to respond in the timeliest manner.

NAHLN laboratories use standardized testing methods developed by USDA for use at state, regional, and national levels. Personnel from the laboratories have been specifically trained in these techniques, and undergo stringent proficiency testing by the USDA. The laboratories are tied together by a common software platform that allows reporting of test results quickly and accurately under secure conditions. A robust quality control system is in place at all NAHLN laboratories.

With these resources, the NAHLN labs have the capacity to test large numbers of samples during a disease outbreak as well as to demonstrate freedom of disease after eradication. In addition, the labs can conduct nationwide surveillance testing for early detection of animal disease outbreaks.

Through our participation in the NAHLN, the VDL is helping to safeguard the health of our agricultural animals. The impact extends into the public health arena as well as we consider the zoonotic potential of avian influenza. Furthermore, this work serves to promote confidence among the public, as well as our global trading partners, in our nation’s animal products and food supply.

For more information on the NAHLN, please visit

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/

More information about FMD and the risk to Oregon agriculture can be found on the Oregon Department of Agriculture Animal Health and Identification Division web page at

http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/AHID/