On the Forefront: VetCOT and Elevating Veterinary Trauma Care

Cutting edge veterinary hospitals like Oakland Veterinary Referral Services are joining together to form a national network of veterinary trauma centers. Hospitals in this network will work with the recently formed Veterinary Committee on Trauma (VetCOT) to produce a veterinary trauma registry, standardize trauma practice, and further trauma education. Learn more about why this and other work planned by VetCOT is so important for improving veterinary trauma care.

VetCOT

In human healthcare, it is common for hospitals across the nation to work based on the best practices in how patient care is handled. Veterinary hospitals, however, are traditionally privately owned and often work independently. This becomes particularly evident in trauma medicine, where hospitals may be working with dated, or less than optimal, trauma processes and knowledge.

One of VetCOT’s key goals is to ensure that the most current medicine practices are available to animals who are critically ill or have been injured. Part of this is making sure that veterinary hospitals have the knowledge and tools to provide this level of care.

Who is Part of VetCOT?

VetCOT is bringing together the top veterinary trauma centers across the country, both private and at University, to standardize trauma practices, develop a veterinary trauma registry, and to further trauma education to make this possible.

The American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care has designated a select number of veterinary trauma centers to lead the way in these efforts. The chosen hospitals are held to high standards, requiring Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS) Level 1 certification. OVRS achieved this certification in 2014 and is pleased to be one of the participating hospitals.

Creating a Veterinary Trauma Registry

As one of the elite veterinary trauma centers in the nation, OVRS feels a unique responsibility to be part of elevating veterinary trauma care while working with other trauma hospitals. The goals of this group and the trauma registry are multifaceted, and include:

• Enhancing care for trauma patients
• Promoting research and learning opportunities
• Expanding knowledge about trauma in veterinary medicine
• Creating a more uniform way of practicing trauma medicine in the veterinary world
• Collecting data on trauma patients
• Promote a higher recognition of veterinary specialties such as emergency and critical care

Together with VetCOT, OVRS can use our cutting edge staff and facility to help collect data that will help many other pets across the country receive excellent care in trauma situations. Our contributions may help to develop new protocols and spur new research that may change the face of veterinary medicine.

We are so thrilled to be one of the few hospitals in the United States which meets the strict qualifications necessary to be part of this initiative. We can’t wait to see the outcomes of our efforts.