COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — The Linda and Dennis Clark '68 Small Animal Teaching Hospital is expected to be opened by Summer 2027. The new facility will benefit students, staff, and patients with increased space and resources.
- The College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University is undergoing an upgrade with the construction of a new Small Animal Teaching Hospital.
- The current Small Animal Teaching Hospital has been renovated many times since it was originally built back in 1982, and while it will still be used, right next door to it is where the new Linda and Dennis Clark '68 Small Animal Teaching Hospital is being built with a focus on the future.
- Dr. Stacy Eckman, Associate Dean for Hospital Operations in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University, tells 15 ABC the project had support from donors, the university system, and the state, with the hospital expected to be completed and opened in Summer 2027.
- Not only will students and staff benefit from the new facility, but patients and clients will as well, with Dr. Eckman telling 15 ABC it will provide a low-stress environment for their animals and also cutting-edge medicine that is currently not available.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“It's really about our ability to teach, our ability to be innovative, and our ability to do research in in our hospital system," Dr. Stacy Eckman, Associate Dean for Hospital Operations in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University, said.
A construction site now, but a new hospital later — one named after donors Linda and Dennis Clark.
“The goal, I think, is my class is gonna be the first class in the hospital," Susie Carmichael, a second-year Veterinary Student at Texas A&M University, said.
A project years in the making is now in its final stage.
“We’ve been dreaming about this since way back in 2011, 2013," said Dr. Eckman.
Since Texas A&M opened the current Small Animal Teaching Hospital back in 1982, the number of patients it sees a year has grown from 4,000 to 26,000.
“So not only has that case load increased, but our student numbers have increased, our faculty numbers have increased, our staffing numbers have increased, so it really gives us the ability to do more in the space that we have," said Dr. Eckman.
Dr. Eckman tells 15 ABC that increased space is crucial.
“We can't get the number of clinical trials through here that we would like to see, we can't go and have the newest technology in here, again, it's sometimes, it's just a limitation of our footprint that we have."
Increasing that footprint is something students like Carmichael are excited about.
“Medicine in general is just kind of one of those fields that's always changing, so I think keeping up with the times is really important…to you know, build new hospitals," said Carmichael. "Everything's always changing, we're always coming up with different like treatments and diagnostics and tests and things.”
15 ABC asked Dr. Eckman what the new Small Animal Teaching Hospital will mean for future students and future staff.
“This is gonna be a really a great way to expand their educational experiences to what, again, we can't do now where we have one or two people able to be in an OR. We'll have more people with the technology in the new building to be in that OR and see what's happening in there so it will greatly enhance their educational experiences.”
Bettering education for an industry where more veterinarians are always needed.
“I think it's gonna help hopefully bridge the gap between being in classroom learning and the clinical learning and then eventually going on to be a doctor, so it'll kind of help us build those clinical skills and be like day-one-ready doctors, which is the goal of the program," said Carmichael.