Banfield, The Pet Hospital, recently opened a temporary on-campus hospital at Western University of Health Sciences.

Construction on a permanent 6,000-square-foot hospital will be completed on the university's campus for the fall 2006 school year. The temporary hospital will make clinical teaching facilities available in the meantime.

"This is a one-of-a-kind partnership between the nation's largest private veterinary practice and the first new U.S. school of veterinary medicine in 20 years," said Banfield Chairman and CEO Scott Campbell, DVM. "By investing in the provision of high quality practical experiences for veterinary students, it is our hope that Banfield and Western University can help produce some of the most skilled, confident and efficient new graduates in our profession."

The new hospital will be used in the curriculum for the university's College of Veterinary Medicine and is being built with funds donated completely by Banfield. The veterinary practice also will build or remodel at least four hospitals within a 30-minute drive of WesternU's campus to serve as sites for clinical rotations for third- and fourth-year veterinary students.

Banfield Medical Director Amy Raines, DVM, has been appointed associate professor and medical director for the WesternU facility.

The College of Veterinary Medicine's curriculum gives first- and second-year students the opportunity to gain firsthand experience in the on-campus Banfield hospital where, under veterinary faculty supervision, they will perform wellness examinations and preventative care treatment on the pets of university students, faculty and staff.