The Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), located on Virginia Tech’s campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, provides the finest animal health care available while building the future of the veterinary profession through hands-on training of residents, interns, and DVM students.

Since the current small animal hospital was completed in 1987, it has seen incredible growth in cases due to the increased demands for veterinary services across the world. To address this need, the veterinary college has plans to launch an expansion of the VTH to create modern, world-class teaching and clinical research spaces that will advance knowledge through patient care.

With a scheduled groundbreaking in 2024, and doors opening in 2026, the VTH expansion and renovation will add 37,000 square feet, provide necessary upgrades to the current facilities, and incorporate unfinished space to allow for continued growth.

Philanthropic partners are sought to ensure this project can occur in a timely fashion without increasing the financial burden on future students. Your investment can advance the overall level of care for the community by increasing the number of patients that can be helped, lessening the wait time for hospital services, and improving the hospital environment.

A fully functioning teaching hospital

The VTH is not only a state-of-the-art clinical facility, but also a premier teaching hospital producing compassionate and skilled veterinarians each year.

The teaching model in academic hospitals in both human and veterinary medicine involves small groups of students immersed in a specialty for weeks at a time. This model for experiential learning creates needs for physical space in addition to a patient treatment area with appropriate equipment for each specialty.

Space needs include touchdown locations for veterinary technicians, private call stations where specialists can speak with referring veterinarians, and a student “rounds” room to support group collaboration, teaching, medical records entries, and communication with clients.

Due to the VTH’s exponential growth over the past 40-plus years, current facilities and staffing create challenges to both the care provided to small animals and the experiential education of veterinary students. The completion of this planned expansion and renovation will ensure that clients continue to entrust their animals to the VTH and will enable Virginia Tech to remain at the forefront of veterinary care.