Spring 2007 La Vet web.indd - School of Veterinary Medicine ...

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Veterinary Teaching Hospital ImplementsChanges to Improve ServiceTo provide the latest, mostadvanced clinical services andexcellent client care, the VeterinaryTeaching Hospital has implementedsome changes. The Small AnimalClinic has undergone renovations toits receiving area and hired a referralcoordinator, while the Equine Clinichas restructured the manner in which itdelivers select services and has hired aclient care coordinator.Clinic RenovationsThe Small Animal Clinic has madestructural changes to its receivingarea. The cashiers and the receptionarea have been joined together andnew counters have been added. “Thepurpose of these changes is to providea better client service focus,” said Dr.Amy Grooters, service chief for theSmall Animal Clinic.Referral CoordinatorThe Small Animal Clinic hasalso hired a referral coordinator. KayLegleu will handle the vast majorityof communications with the hospital’sreferring veterinarians, includingscheduling appointments, arrangingconsulations, and providing caseupdates. “Kay has been hired to workTo help improve service to clients andreferring veterinarians, the VeterinaryTeaching Hospital recently hired KayLegleu (left), referral coordinator for theSmall Animal Clinic, and Leslie Talley(right), client care coordinator for theEquine Clinic.6 La Veterinaire Spring 2007directly withour referringveterinarians andto focus on theirneeds,” said Dr.Grooters.Legleufirst connectedto the Schoolof VeterinaryMedicine afterHurricaneKatrina when shevolunteered atthe EmergencyAnimal Shelterat the John M.Parker Coliseum.She came to walka dog, but therewere too many volunteers that day.Instead, she was asked to help outin the shelter’s command center. “Istarted answering phones and neverleft,” said Legleu. After the shelterclosed, Legleu continued working withthe School by helping to reunite petowners with their pets.In 2007, Legleu saw theadvertisement in the newspaper forthe referral coordinator position andapplied. She has a bachelor of artsin sociology from SoutheasternLouisiana University andhas spent time working withhurricane evacuees (both humanand animal). Legleu is excitedabout her new position in theVeterinary Teaching Hospital.“My job is to facilitate bettercommunications betweenthe School and the referringveterinarians,” said Legleu.Referring veterinarians cancontact Kay Legleu directly at225-578-9040 or through theSmall Animal Clinic main lineat 225-578-9600. To learn moreabout the Veterinary TeachingHospital’s services and clinics,please go to www.vetmed.lsu.Renovations have been made to the small animal receivingarea to improve client service.edu.In addition to changes in theSmall Animal Clinic, the Hospital’sEquine Clinic has hired a clientcare coordinator and implementeda new scheduling system forselected services, which includeperformance evaluation and fitnesstesting, advanced diagnostic imaging,advanced dentistry and advancedpodiatry and therapeutic farriery.Advanced ImagingThe advanced imaging programis directed by Dr. Daniel J. Burba,professor of veterinary surgery andinterim director of the Equine HealthStudies Program. The service isoffered Monday through Thursdayof each week. Advanced imagingmodalities offered include computedtomography (CT or CAT scan) andnuclear scintigraphy (bone scan);these imaging modalities complimentthe Hospital’s digital radiographyand ultrasonography capabilities. Thenuclear scintigraphy or bone scanunit uses an injection of radioactivematerial to identify and locate subtleareas of bone, ligament/tendon ormuscle injuries often before theycan be detected by radiographs or
The equine treadmill is used for fi tnesstraining and performance evaluations. TheSchool of Veterinary Medicine acquired thisnew treadmill in 2006.ultrasound. The Veterinary TeachingHospital is currently negotiatinga lease for an MRI (MagneticResonance Imaging) and hopes tohave one in place later this year.Advanced Equine DentistryThe Equine Clinic also offers anadvanced equine dentistry service,which is directed by Dr. ChuckMcCauley, assistant professorequine surgery. The service isoffered on Tuesday of each weekand focuses primarily on thediagnosis and treatment of morecomplicated dental disorders thanthose correctable by routine dentalcare. This service includes up-to-dateimaging modalities including digitalradiography, nuclear scintigraphy, andcomputed tomography (CT). Bothsurgical and nonsurgical techniqueswill be available for the treatmentof developmental and eruptionabnormalities in young horses;misalignments, severe malocclusions,dental infections and periodontaldisease in adult and geriatric patients;and other dental pathology, includingneoplasia (tumors) and trauma.The Equine Clinic also offersan equine podiatry and advancedtherapeutic farriery service,which is directed by Dr. ColinMitchell, assistant professor ofequine surgery. This service isroutinely offered on Friday ofeach week and provides focusedveterinary and skilled farriercare to address hoof problemsand lameness issues originatingfrom the feet (such as naviculardisease, pedal osteitis, laminitisand other conditions) usingcorrective therapeutic trimming,shoeing and veterinarymanagement. To help ensureoptimal results, medical imagingmodalities will be used whereappropriate and necessary toidentify changes within the hoof.These images, as well as digitalphotographs, will be stored andavailable for review to facilitateassessment of case progressionand monitoring over time.Performance Evaluation and FitnessTestingThe Equine Clinic currently offersperformance evaluation and fitnesstesting of horses; however, this is nowaugmented by the installation andimplementation of a new high-speedtreadmill and other technologies. Thisservice utilizes a standard set of teststo provide an accurate assessmentof performance ability or limitation,as well as enabling the clinician todiagnose subtle changes that affectperformance in the elite athlete.The service includes conductinga routine physical examination, preandpost-treadmill electrocardiogram(ECG) and echocardiography(ultrasound of the heart), standingendoscopic (scoping) evaluation ofthe upper and lower respiratory tract,dynamic endoscopy while exercisingon the high-speed treadmill, telemetricECG during treadmill exercise, preandserial post-exercise measurementof muscle enzymes in the blood toassess for muscle disorders such as“tying up,” and posttreadmilltranstrachealwash to evaluate for lowerairway inflammation and/or bleeding. This panelof tests will provide a comprehensiveapproach to assess performancecapabilities or limitations and fitness.The performance evaluation and fitnesstesting will be directed by one of theclinic surgeons.Client Care CoordinatorIn addition to the new schedulingsystem, the Equine Clinic has hiredLeslie Talley to serve as client carecoordinator. She worked as an equinetechnician in the barn for 19 yearsbefore moving into the coordinatorposition. Talley works with bothreferring veterinarians and clients.“The clients like being able tospeak to someone immediately, and itmakes it easier to set up appointments,”said Talley. “Basically the newscheduling system (with Leslie fieldingcalls and making the appointments)has really allowed the doctors tospend more time focusing on casemanagement,” said Dr. Mitchell. Tolearn more about these services, pleasecontact Leslie Talley at the LSU EquineClinic at 225-578-9500 or visit theEquine Health Studies Program websiteat www.LSUEquine.com.2005-06 Number of Visits toVeterinary Teaching Hospitalby SpeciesCanine 10,973Feline 2,136Equine 2,216Bovine 387Ovine & Cervine 38Caprine 107Porcine 51Exotic 600Avian ____731Total 17,239La Veterinaire Spring 2007 7
Page 2 and 3: ContentsLa Vet Salutes 3New Faculty
Page 4 and 5: Emmet and Toni Stephenson Pledge $2
Page 8 and 9: Five Pelicans Rescued by LSU Facili
Page 11 and 12: Looking Back at the SVM . . .The Cl
Page 13 and 14: SVM Honors Alumnae withDistinguishe
Page 15 and 16: AlumniMembers of the Class of 1996
Page 17 and 18: In MemoriamVirgil Edward Ford, DVM,
Page 19 and 20: SVM Sets Goal of 30% AlumniParticip

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