A Tour of the Hospital
My name is Scooter. I bet you can guess where my name comes from. I am going to be your tour guide of the hospital.
This is my friend, Tori. He is a tortoise that lives here at the hospital. That device on his back let's the staff find him if he wanders under a book case.
I usually sneak into the first cage I can find that has a nice padded blanket to lie on. Oh well, there will be time for napping later.
Tori is telling me it is time to get going!
Ok, here we go with the tour. You usually won't see me up here when you come into the clinic. But, you will be greeted by one of our friendly receptionists. While you wait for your appointment, enjoy the complimentary coffee and popcorn that we have in our spacious lobby.
Tori really likes the Serenity pond, even though he can't swim. But some of his distant relatives do hang out in there.
Time to move on. Whoa, that is a long way down. Can someone give me a helping hand?
Next stop is the exam rooms. We have eight total, but two of them are special. This one is the greyhound room. It is very spacious to allow for better interaction with those special dogs.
Our normal exam rooms are homey in design and decor and allow our doctors to more efficiently examine and interact with their patients.
Pardon me while I rest for a minute in this special room. Room 8 is used primarily to allow owners to say goodbye to their beloved pet in a quiet and dignified setting.
Next stop is the lab. This is often one of the busiest rooms in the hospital. Here you see me by the machines that run blood chemistries and CBC's. This gives us the chance to get results quickly when a patient's condition requires quick answers. Don't worry, though, I'll let the Doctors interpret the results.
Here I am by the microscope. This is where the technicians read fecals, urine sediments, cytologies, ear swabs, and blood smears. Maybe if no one is looking, I can see something for myself.
Let's see, where do you look into this thing?
Oops, someone is coming. Oh well, might as well move on with the tour.
Pardon me while I rest for a minute. Napping is very important to a cat. They have provided me with this really cool bed for those rest breaks.
I guess I can't sleep all day. Here I am in the pharmacy. This is a very busy area during the day. Medications are filled, vaccines are drawn up, and the refill line is answered here. I keep offering to help, but they tell me I need to learn how to count first.
Next stop is the treatment area. This is the center of all the action in the hospital. Pets are examined here, prepped for surgery here, recovered from surgery, and hospitalized for treatment when needed. I hang out back here most of the time. The staff probably thinks I am trying to just get attention, but I really am fascinated by the work that gets done here.
Connected to treatment is our very well-equipped surgery suite. Not only do our Doctors perform routine spays and neuters in here, but they also do more advanced procedures, including laparoscopy and endoscopy.
Here I am sitting next to one of our advanced monitors. Every pet that goes under anesthesia is connected to one of these and is monitored for heart rate and ECG, blood pressure and temperature.
The surgery tables are heated for patient comfort and safety. I would love to take a nap up here, but it is just a little too high for me. Ok, is somebody going to help me down?
Also off the treatment room is our digital radiology suite. Being digital eliminates having to wait to develop a film, and it provides much greater detail in the image. The Doctors have a big laptop to bring into the exam room to show you your pet's x-rays.
Here I am checking out the x-ray table. That is the touch screen above me where the technician enters what type of exposure is being taken.
This is the viewing station. The doctor can review the image here within seconds of it being taken. Digital technology makes it hard to take a bad film. That means less exposures are needed which is safer for your pet and the staff. I wish I had the password to log on to this thing. At least this stool is more comfortable than that table.
Just across the hall from our x-ray room is where we do a different kind of imaging with our digital ultrasound. This machine lets us examine the abdominal organs in much greater detail. It can "see" things that x-rays can't.
That is all for now. I am going to rest here with my friend "Orange" and think about what else to put in the tour. Come back again, soon, and I will show you around some more.
