When your pet has experienced a life-threatening trauma, every moment can mean the difference between life and death. A trauma is a severe external or internal injury that occurs suddenly due to violence or accident, and includes things like compound or complex fractures, and wounds that cause severe bleeding, organ damage or respiratory distress.
At Boundary Bay Veterinary Specialty Hospital (BBVSH), we see traumatic injuries from things like wild animal attacks (cougar and bear), large dogs attacking smaller dogs, cars or trains striking pets, falls from heights (apartment windows), and drowning.
BBVSH has just recently been upgraded to a VetCOT Level II trauma and emergency hospital. This means we have the specialized equipment and board-certified criticalists and specialists on staff and on-call to handle even the most critical, life-threatening traumas. It also means that we are part of a consortium of veterinarians who share information and data to help improve patient care in trauma centres across North America.
What is VetCOT?
VetCOT is short for Veterinary Committee on Trauma, a program providing a network of veterinary trauma centres with information, resources, and standards for improving trauma patient management efficiency and outcomes.
The VetCOT Veterinary Trauma Center (VTC) initiative recognizes veterinary specialty centers that exemplify the team-based approach to trauma care and is supported by the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC).
Level II VetCOT centres are required to have personnel, equipment, and resources to offer medical, emergent, surgical, and critical care for pets, and must be open 24/7/365 to emergency and trauma patients. This level of certification also requires a radiologist’s availability in-house or on-call and active VECCS Facility Certification.
Collaborating on continually improving patient care
As part of the ACVECC supported program, we are part of a network of hospitals that work collaboratively to define standards of care for trauma and disseminate information that improves trauma patient management efficiency and outcomes. We work together to continually learn and advance the standards of practice in veterinary emergency medicine, trauma care, and critical patient care.
What does this mean for you and your pet?
At BBVSH, being a VetCOT Trauma Centre for your pet means we are committed to:
- Preparedness in staff and facility for any emergency or trauma that comes to our hospital.
- Collaboration between our specialty departments as well as with other trauma centres.
- Learning through ongoing continued education for all staff, from reception to vet techs to surgeons.
- Improvement via consistent, continuous strengthening of our care.
As a veterinary trauma centre, we are capable of providing specialized medical and surgical care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We provide consultation and care from board-certified specialists in emergency and critical care, surgery, internal medicine, cardiology, neurology, oncology, dentistry, diagnostic imaging, and animal rehabilitation.
More Information
For additional information on emergency and critical care at BBVSH, click here.
Should your pet experience a life-threatening emergency, come directly to our hospital, walk-ins welcome.
If possible, call ahead at 604-514-8383 to let one of our staff know you are on your way. We’ll be ready either way.