AUBURN, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Veterinarians are struggling to keep up with the overload of animal cases they see daily, with staffing shortages making the challenge even tougher. However, one local doctor is hoping to change that.
Dr. Paula Ospina is a veterinarian by night and a full-time mother by day.
“My husband, family, friends, everybody else came together, and we were able to purchase this building and get this practice open,” says Ospina.
Just last weekend, she opened Urgent Veterinary Care in Auburn, located on Genesee Street.
“We were trying to figure out a way to continue to do our job in the way that we were doing it, and I took it upon myself to make that happen,” says Ospina.
Before opening her own practice and bringing some of her former co-workers with her, Ospina worked at the Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Center in Baldwinsville up until they closed this past June. The Veterinary ER center is where pet owners can go if their vet is closed and their animal needs medical attention. Depending on the pet’s condition, the staff will advise you what to do once you arrive.
Ospina added, “The very critical cases that may require intensive oxygen therapy, for example, or massive surgery which we’re not able to do, those we would refer to bigger centers.”
Still partially under construction, the center offers two exam rooms, a treatment center, digital X-rays, and more services are on the way, including a surgery suite, isolation suite, large dog runs, and a specialized cat room. Ospina says by the summer, all of the different services in the center will be open.
“Our focus is be here to help support the community, be here to help support your veterinarian. Give your pet a chance to or more access to care during the off-hours,” says Ospina.
Urgent Veterinary Care is open for limited patients from 6 pm – 11 pm on weekdays and is open from 6 pm Friday through the weekend, closing at 6 am on Monday.
Urgent Veterinary Care does not accept appointments. However, you can call ahead if you need your pet to be looked at. Pet owners will be required to fill out a registration form before bringing their pets in. Curbside is also being provided.