Building the Future of Veterinary Care

Nonprofit Emergency and Specialty Hospital, DoveLewis, nears the end of a year-long expansion that addresses the complex demands of unprecedented growth and a changing industry.

PORTLAND, Ore – As a nonprofit organization, it is in the DNA of DoveLewis Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital to address the needs of its pet-loving community. It was with that mindset that it launched a now nationally recognized pet loss support program 33 years ago and bore atdove.org, a distance learning veterinary training service in 2007.

Recently, however, a practical need has arisen: space. In the last three years, the hospital has experienced a staggering twenty-three percent increase in patients. The urban hospital’s ER, ICU, and specialty services shared exam, treatment, and waiting areas, and the team was struggling to keep pace. This year, the team anticipates caring for 25,000 patients.

“When you grow that quickly, it puts a strain on everything,” said DoveLewis President and Chief Executive Officer, Ron Morgan. “We knew we needed to make a change – for the wellbeing of our patients, their families, and our team.”  

The team enacted a plan that would simultaneously address the demands of their patients and lay the groundwork for the hospital’s long-term goal: become a comprehensive care center for animals in the Pacific Northwest.

In November 2018, the team broke ground on 8,500 square feet of additional clinical space. This summer, the renovation’s first phase opened, offering two distinct care experiences: one for emergent and critical patients and one for scheduled specialty patients, including radiology, internal medicine, cardiology, and surgery.

“We envision a world where every animal gets the care they deserve,” said Morgan, “and this will set us on a path to doing just that." Notable additions to the hospital include: three animal wards for pets and wildlife, a third state-of-the-art surgery suite, a dedicated lobby and six exams rooms for specialty patients, and a second comfort room for patients’ final moments. Large treatment rooms more adequately support the needs of current specialty patients while allowing room to add additional specialists—or new specialties altogether—in the future.

The unprecedented growth is not just the result of the region’s pet-friendly lifestyle. The industry’s hiring crisis has taken a toll on local hospitals’ ability to treat their usual caseload and some are choosing to curtail hours or services, leaving other hospitals, including DoveLewis, to carry the overage. “The wellbeing of our team is paramount, and the changes we’re making aren’t just about caring for animals—we’re caring for the people behind the animals, too,” said Morgan.

The renovation took employee experiences into account and a cross-team committee considered creative solutions for team communication and client management, including a reengineered patient flow, a weekend overflow protocol, and a mirrored digital whiteboard. Hospital leadership expects that client-facing improvements will have a positive impact on their team, too, by creating less stressful waiting experiences and interactions. The emergency lobby was redesigned to emphasize client privacy for sensitive medical and financial conversations, and the additional exam rooms add scheduling flexibility.

With the renovation complete, the organization is kicking off initiatives that will move the nonprofit hospital towards its vision of growing from an emergency hospital to a comprehensive medical center. Morgan said, “Our future relies on people – healthy teams and happy clients. We’re proud of the work we do now to support them, but there’s always more to be done, and our team is ready to set a new standard.”

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