Construction for LSU’s new $10.5 million veterinary hospital is expected to break ground in April, according to officials with the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.
The 36,000-square-foot Stephenson Veterinary Hospital will be located next to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital on campus. It will house a few of the services currently offered at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, such as dermatology, ophthalmology, community practice and integrative medicine. The new hospital will not replace the older one.
Construction is expected to last 18 months, and the new hospital is scheduled to open its doors February 2021.
Ginger Guttner, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine public relations director, says the Veterinary Teaching Hospital—which was built in 1978 and sees about 23,000 patient visits annually—is running out of room.
“We want to be able to offer more technological advanced and better care for our patients,” Guttner says. “This will give us an opportunity to enhance care for our patients and provide a better learning environment for our students.”
Led by a donation from Emmet and Toni Stephenson, the School of Veterinary Medicine raised $5 million and the state committed to match. The State Bond Commission recently approved the state’s match for the hospital last month.
The schematic design of the project will go before LSU’s Board of Supervisors this morning to make sure the clinic will match design standards for the campus.
