Bucks County Animal Hospital Named National Animal Trauma Center
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Bucks County animal hospital has joined an elite group and is named a national animal trauma center.
There are less than 30 pet trauma centers in the United States. Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Center (VSEC) in Levittown is now one of them.
Dr. Garret Pachtinger is the director of VSEC's Trauma Medical Center. He says it's not just the emergency room and ICU that make an animal hospital a trauma center.
"While our hospital, for example, has seven board certified specialists in emergency and critical care medicine, we also have a team of other specialists throughout the hospital, whether it's neurologists and neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, ophthalmologists, radiologists etc," Pachtinger said. "So we have a team of specialists that can to help support that patient."
In addition, Dr. Pachtinger says the center will study trauma patients so trends can be evaluated, improving the veterinary profession as a whole.
VSEC in Levittown joins two other national pet trauma centers in the region; Penn Vet in Philadelphia and NorthStar in the Trenton area.