Hello to our loyal clients and friends!

I hope that the weather is treating you well. Iowa always manages to give us a few surprises, such as the August Derecho (“land hurricane”). I hope I never need to deal with one of those again, but I can assure you that if I do, I couldn’t ask for a better crew around me than the doctors and staff at the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center. Although we didn’t know what was happening, when we heard the alarm everyone worked seamlessly to rapidly collect owners and animals from outside and place them in safety in interior spaces. Of course, this was all done with physical distancing and providing masks to maintain our COVID-19 mitigation procedures. Although we lost power, our generators came on, and the patients were all examined and taken care of appropriately. The health and safety of our patients and their owners was our first priority.

Clients still must remain outside the hospital due to COVID-19, but we are arranging some virtual events where interested clients can look “behind the scenes” and learn about different areas of the hospital. Earlier this fall we updated clients about the new oncology services and cancer research. We are planning similar virtual events over the next months, including behind the scenes in our Equine Hospital, and our Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care Service. Please let Deb Calderwood, CVM Director of Development know if you are interested, email dcalderwood@foundation.iastate.edu or call 515-294-1593.

With the financial constraints brought on by the pandemic, we find the generosity of our friends and patrons to be critical and gratifying. The new Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center Excellence Fund has now been set up to provide operational support for our hospital infrastructure, with our first project being an upgraded Computed Tomography (CT) unit. Our old unit can no longer keep pace with the needs of our patients for specialized imaging, and it is time for a new CT unit. Our plan is to have the new unit in place by December so we can start the new year with the latest CT imaging capabilities. We utilize CT for a wide variety of veterinary uses, including identifying tumor locations for radiation therapy, planning orthopedic surgery on small and large animals, examining deep inner ear infections, viewing internal injuries after a trauma, and many other examples. We are looking forward to having a faster machine that can process more daily patients than our old model, to increase the number of patients we can help each day.

I hope that you are staying healthy and safe. This has been a wild year, and people rely deeply on the love and companionship of their beloved animal friends in times of uncertainty. We are glad to be your partners in supporting the health and well-being of your animal companions.

Thank you for your support of the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center.

Sincerely,

Stephanie West DVM
Director of Hospital Operations