State-of-the-art hospital care
by Joan Lowell Smith
Sunday, June 20, 2004

MY FIRST GLIMPSE of the Animal Emergency & Referral Associates
hospital in Fairfield gave a clue to what waited inside. If "Star
Trek" built an animal hospital, it would resemble this facility on
Bloomfield Avenue, a stone's throw from its former location for 25
years in West Caldwell but worlds apart in technological advances.

Chief of staff Michael Palescandolo ushered us through the hospital,
opened in mid-May, which offers digital imaging, MRI, computers in
every examining room, a Web cam to monitor the recovery area, audio-
visuals and a conference center for training of staff and vets from
other practices.

"To say you are the best, you really have to be training your staff
daily," Palescandolo said. "If not, advances in veterinary medicine
will pass you by. Today, pet owners want the same quality of medical
care for their pets they expect for themselves.

"We've divided the hospital into different departments and zones to
tailor the needs of our patients. The ICU has its own nurses, who can
maintain patients on continuous IV and oxygen therapy," he said as we
toured the hospital, accompanied by Bill Rooney, president, and Peter
Getchell, sales manager of BDE Computer Services in Clifton, who put
this 14,000-square-foot facility together.

Specialists

Starting in the chemotherapy wing, Renee Alsarraf, a board-certified
oncologist, was about to administer chemotherapy on a cat with the
aide of her oncology nurse, Stephanie Wilson. Alsarraf's husband,
Michael Brown, an ophthalmologist, practices at Veterinary Referral
Centre in Little Falls, which is affiliated with AERA.

When we observed Palescandolo's staff greet him as either "Dr. Mike"
or "Dr. P," we decided on "Dr. P" for brevity. I was impressed by the
fact that he refers to his highly trained veterinary technicians
as "nurses." "Well, that's what they are," he explained simply.

The two facilities employ 18 veterinarians plus 70 staff members,
including nurses and clerical help, the vast majority at AERA, which
provides walk-in emergency service and other procedures by referral
from over 250 practices throughout northern and central New Jersey.
AERA offers surgery, internal medicine, ophthalmology and oncology.
VRC covers dermatology, ophthalmology, radiology and imaging, as well
as radioactive treatment for hyperthyroidism.

While there are a few large New Jersey veterinary practices with
specialists on staff, the only other practice that is exclusively by
referral is Garden State Veterinary Specialists in Tinton Falls,
headed by Thomas Scavelli. "Pet owners can be assured that there is
no longer any need to leave the state. New Jersey supplies among the
best specialists available in the world. And that's the truth," said
Brian Voynick, owner of American Animal Hospital in Randolph and host
of "The Pet Stop" on News 12 New Jersey, who refers special cases to
both practices.

Latest technology

"We can go into an X-ray and modify it any way we want," said Dr. P,
while demonstrating the technique. "We can darken it, change the
exposure or magnify. We can bring X-rays out to the client on a
wireless tablet (computer) and we can transmit X-rays to a
radiologist anywhere in the world in minutes. We're not waiting for
things to come down from human medicine anymore."

On our way to ICU, a nurse delicately placed drops in a ferret's eye,
while another bottle-fed a week-old kitten. In the pristine ICU,
animals are closely monitored by staff and Web cam. "It is always
better to be with the patient, but the Web cam is a backup that
allows us to keep constant watch on seriously ill patients."

In a spacious area surrounded by large cages occupied by animals with
various conditions, just one dog barked, a golden named Buddy,
admitted for gastric torsion, a life-threatening condition commonly
known as bloat. Buddy was transported to another section of the
hospital, where Justin Straus, specialist in internal medicine,
performed an ultrasound that indicated the need for a gastropexy
procedure to prevent future bloating. "Many large-breed dogs develop
gastric torsion and can die without emergency care," Dr. P explained.

Moving to the state-of-the-art operating room, we peered through a
wall of windows to watch Christopher Hunt, a board-certified surgeon,
perform a pyloroplasty on the stomach of Esmee, a young Shih Tzu, to
correct a stenotic (narrowing) condition preventing food from passing
through the digestive system.

Awaiting surgery was Robespierre, a gray cat with a bullet in his
leg. "The owner brought him in because he was limping with no visible
wound. Digital X-rays revealed the bullet," said Dr. P, as he
enlarged the image to display the bullet clearly imbedded in a
joint. "Ideally, we like to repair, but his leg was so badly
shattered and basically irreparable, an amputation is necessary."

The following day, Dr. P shared prognoses on the three
patients. "They're all doing well. Robespierre goes home tomorrow.
He'll be fine. Animals do very well on three legs," he said. "Buddy's
surgery will prevent bloat in the future, and Esmee should be able to
enjoy life without further episodes of vomiting."

Always something

Such challenges are nonstop, especially on weekends. "Over the
Memorial Day weekend, at one point we had 15 emergencies lined up,"
Dr. P recalled. "You never know what you'll see. One day we had three
dogs that had all swallowed golf balls. We're elated that we can
minister to the needs of very sick or injured patients. I'm still
amazed when a patient that was very ill or near death returns to
visit in obvious good health."

Next week: Vacation dilemma -- take the pets or board them?

Contact Joan Lowell Smith at P.O. Box 302, Garwood, N.J. 07027 or e-
mail RTR4PA@aol.com.
"Concerning Animals" is online at
http://www.nj.com/living/ledger/index.ssf?fourteendays.

Copyright 2004 The Star-Ledger.

Posted on SHARE Yahoo group Jun 23, 2004