ER for pets cuts no corners

From the ARIZONA DAILY STAR | By Kimberly Matas | May 11, 2006

European-inspired decorative porcelain tiles in the entryway, a stacked stone reception area, textured wall coverings, limestone countertops, Craftsman-style furnishings, cherry wood doors, a flat-screen television hanging on the wall.

"It has a nice homey feel, not a clinical look," said Sam Merlino of the Philadelphia-based Merlino Design Partnership, who is in Tucson directing the office remodel.

And if a client pees on the floor, no big deal. It is, after all, the new East Side location of the Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Center, 7474 E. Broadway, at Prudence Road.

The emergency vet center at 141 E. Fort Lowell Road, which opened in 1994, launched the second location Monday. The specialty practice has been in Tucson for 25 years. It was started by veterinary ophthalmologist Reuben Merideth in 1981. Veterinary oncologist Mary Kay Klein joined as a co-owner in 1983. Another ophthalmologist, veterinarian Christi Warren, is the third owner of the practice.

General practitioners in the veterinary field send their clients to the center when they are in need of specialty care. Both locations are also open around the clock for emergency treatment.

The new location, occupying 7,500 square feet of the 10,000-square-foot building, has equipment to treat eye, heart, neurological, orthopedic and internal problems and cancer patients. A church occupies a part of the building, which will serve as expansion space for the vet practice once the church outgrows the site, said hospital administrator Jay Zimmer. The clinic also has permits to expand the existing building by 1,000 square feet in the future.

The technology is state of the art to benefit the animal patients and the lobby and exam rooms are designed for the comfort of the human companions.

"When people come in with a sick dog, we don't want to put them in a clinical environment," Merlino said.

Merlino paid special attention to detail. Each exam room features whimsical animal-themed artwork and ceiling tiles are indented with paw prints.

"By the time these pets get to us, they are very, very sick," Zimmer said. "The family is stressed. The bills are expensive. We want them to feel comfortable."

Vet center clinical coordinator Tammy Moore said, "We want to leave them with a good impression, knowing we will give their pet the best care we can."

In the "family room" — where owners can say their last goodbyes to critically ill pets —and in the lobby, the lighting is indirect and adjustable.

"As in human hospitals, they have a family room," Moore said. "Their pets are like family, so when their pet has to be euthanized, they have a place to sit and say goodbye.

"A lot of people don't realize how great the loss can be," she said. "This may be the last time they see their pet, so we want it to be a warm, comfortable time for them."

All of the Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialty Center's 22 vets will rotate through the new clinic, Zimmer said. Before the East Side clinic opened, some clients had to drive across town to the Fort Lowell location.

"It's going to have a big impact on our clients," said veterinarian Kipp Metzger, of Animal Health Hospital on the East Side. "In some ways, Tucson's been an underserved market for specialty and emergency hospitals. ... having another one on this side of town will be spectacular for those of us who live and work on this side of town."

Veterinarian Lani Krauss of Rita Ranch Pet Hospital said the new specialty clinic is "much more convenient to our location. I'm out here in Rita Ranch and it will decrease the time owners will have to drive, considerably, to get their animals to a vet in an emergency situation."