The College of Veterinary Medicine has announced it will open Cornell University Veterinary Specialists (CUVS), a satellite referral and 24-hour emergency care animal hospital in Stamford, Conn., early next year.

CUVS will be the world's largest and most comprehensive university-affiliated veterinary satellite facility, employing 40 veterinarians and staff to provide services to patients referred by their local veterinarians. It will not engage in general practice.

CUVS will be housed in a 20,000-square-foot building, as part of the $3 billion LEED-certified Harbor Point mixed-use urban redevelopment project, which also includes a new Fairway supermarket, 4,000 new luxury apartments, numerous office buildings and the worldwide corporate headquarters for Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Board-certified specialists will offer such high-end treatments and procedures as orthopedic and soft-tissue surgery, emergency and critical care, internal medicine, cardiology and imaging. Additional services will be added over time, in consultation with referring veterinarians. The hospital will have advanced invasive and non-invasive diagnostic, imaging and therapeutic modalities, as well as clinician and technical specialists with advanced training onsite.

To provide the most complete care possible, CUVS veterinarians and staff will leverage the expertise and equipment located at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca. Via videoconferencing and onsite housing accommodations, CUVS will allow students the opportunity to see specialty and referral medicine in a practical, higher-volume environment typical of metropolitan areas.

CUVS will expand the number of veterinary options available in the region and expand Cornell's role in specialty medicine by creating an integrated veterinary medical center that supports clinical research and expands the educational experience for veterinary residents and students. The facility will include a tiered auditorium and overnight rooms for rotating students and residents. It will also allow Cornell to effectively deliver continuing education programming to veterinarians in the New York metropolitan area.

"This is an exciting and innovative initiative for Cornell and one that will combine the best elements of private practice and advanced, discovery-based medicine," said Michael Kotlikoff, the Austin O. Hooey Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. "We have multiple goals for CUVS, all of which will benefit our clients and patients and strengthen the college and the veterinary profession."

The decision to open a referral/emergency clinic in the New York metro area was an outcome of the college's strategic planning process that involved many outside stakeholders, members of the college community and veterinarians.

"Companion animals are members of the family for many people, making the demand for cutting-edge veterinary medicine -- treatments and procedures that rival those available to humans -- greater every day," said Carl R. Kuehner III, president and CEO of Building and Land Technology, the real estate development company with which Cornell has a signed a long-term lease.

For more information about CUVS and Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine, visit http://www.vet.cornell.edu/.