Banfield Foundation And Texas A&M University Double Down On Disaster Relief, Unveil New Veterinary Response Unit

Texas A&M’s Veterinary Emergency Team expands disaster-relief fleet with first fully equipped truck-based veterinary medical unit

Banfield Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and Texas A&M University’s Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) today unveiled the university’s first custom, fully equipped veterinary medical unit. The 25-foot truck, which can be deployed anywhere in the U.S., was fully funded by a grant from the Banfield Foundation and will expand the Texas A&M VET’s medical-response capability in times of disaster.

As the largest and most deployed veterinary emergency response unit in the country, Texas A&M’sVET is a leader in emergency preparedness education. The fully equipped veterinary medical unit—the latest addition to the team’s fleet of response vehicles—will enable even more expansive and efficient rescue and treatment of pets during disasters.

“As we again experienced with the most recent tragedies across the U.S., people and their pets face emergent rescue and recovery needs during and after disasters. The new veterinary medical unit will bolster veterinary care and capabilities during those critical times,” said Dr. George Melillo, Banfield Foundation board member and Vice President of Veterinary Quality at Banfield Pet Hospital. “We have witnessed the compassion and effective care capabilities from Texas A&M’s VET, and we are honored to have a part in helping the team minimize the devastating consequences of disasters and be even more prepared to care for animals in urgent need.”

Custom designed by the Texas A&M VET based on its unique needs and insights from prior deployments, the new veterinary medical unit features a durable metal exterior, generator and climate-controlled tents. It is also equipped with a veterinary-grade wet table, gas anesthesia and storage for enough medical and pharmaceutical inventory to last up to 48 hours of disaster response operations. Now operational, the new unit will enable Texas A&M’s VET to treat and stabilize injured pets—including large animals such as horses and cattle—and perform emergency surgeries.

When not deployed during a disaster, the veterinary medical unit will be based at Texas A&M’sDisaster City®, where veterinary students and Texas Task Force, a FEMA urban search-and-rescue unit, will use it in bimonthly exercises to train for emergency situations. Fourth-year veterinary students will also spend two weeks of clinical rotation with the medical unit.

“Words can’t describe the meaning of such a donation. Marking a huge step forward, the Banfield Foundation provided us a platform that’s worthy of the people and animals we are responding to,” said Dr. Wesley Bissett, founder and director of Texas A&M University’s Veterinary Emergency Team. “Historically, animals were ignored during disasters. In their own right, they deserve our help. Coupled with the impact that saving an animal has on a pet owner who may have lost everything, that’s indescribable. Banfield Foundation’s support of these efforts means an incredible amount to every team member. As the largest and most sophisticated veterinary medical emergency response team in the country, this addition keeps Texas A&M and our College of Veterinary Medicine at the forefront of disaster response – in today’s age, it takes this sort of partnership to pull these things off,” Bissett said.

Banfield Foundation first announced plans for Texas A&M’s VET truck in February 2017 as part of its Disaster Relief Grant program, which is available to nonprofit animal organizations and local or state governments whose communities suffer the impact of disasters. The program has already made a positive difference, funding nearly $725,000 since inception in 2015, including resources for pets and people impacted by Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.

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Posted by chesliepickett on Oct 25 2017. Filed under Breaking News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.