Penn Vet's New Bolton Center to Receive $13.5 Million from Commonwealth for Enhanced Hospital Facilities

June 8, 2006

PHILADELPHIA -- The School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has received a $13.5 million grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at Penn Vet's New Bolton Center.

"We are so grateful for the funding of new hospital facilities because it shows the support the people of the Commonwealth have for Penn's New Bolton Center," said Amy Gutmann, president of Penn.  "The dedicated staff at New Bolton and at the Penn School of Veterinary Medicine, led by Dean Joan Hendricks, make a substantial contribution to animal welfare and the farming industry in Pennsylvania, and this generous grant will enable us to do even more."

The funds will be used toward the completion of new medical facilities on the New Bolton Center campus, including a new isolation building, a colic barn and a chemical digestion facility. The isolation building will provide added biosecurity for the treatment of infectious disease, while the colic barn is for the specialized treatment of horses with a variety of high-risk abdominal conditions. The chemical digestion facility will house a new technology that offers a safe and efficient means to dispose of infectious waste.  

Widely known as the nation's premier location for equine medicine and as the hospital caring for champion Barbaro, New Bolton Center is also well known within the Commonwealth as an important provider of agricultural services and disease prevention.  Each year, the Widener Hospital treats more than 7,000 patients, and New Bolton Center Field Services make more than 21,000 patient visits, serving farms throughout the region.

Additionally, New Bolton Center's diagnostic and avian pathology laboratories serve to protect Pennsylvania's agricultural industry from the threat of emerging and infectious disease.

The Geographical Information System technology developed at New Bolton Center maps the location of poultry facilities throughout the Commonwealth in order to minimize the effects of disease outbreaks.  The center also has aided the Pennsylvania Game Commission and U.S. Department of Agriculture in tracking the spread of chronic wasting disease among wildlife.

"Veterinarians are high in demand, but unfortunately there is a shortage of large-animal vets right here in Pennsylvania," said Gov. Edward G. Rendell. "The investment announced here today is good news for the state's agriculture industry not only because the New Bolton Center will be able to better prepare for and respond to animal diseases but because they will be able to provide hands-on training for their students, equipping them for top jobs in the field of veterinary medicine."

"As the only veterinary school in the state, we have been instrumental in developing a host of programs that serve public-health needs, from our statewide avian flu surveillance program to ongoing infectious disease monitoring," said Joan Hendricks, dean of Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine. "We also offer the finest in 21st-century veterinary care to our patients; however, we are delivering those services in 20th-century facilities, which makes this generous gift most welcome."