24/7 Emergency and Critical Care
The highly trained veterinarians who make up the Emergency and Critical Care service – the 24/7 pulse of Angell – treat pets suffering from life-threatening trauma and disease. Referring veterinarians may alert the staff to an incoming case via our referral phone line, and the general public may use our walk-in emergency clinics.
Due to unprecedented patient volume, there may be times when Angell diverts cases to other emergency facilities with the exception of patients experiencing an imminent, life-threatening medical emergency (e.g., cardiac arrest, difficulty breathing, GI stasis in rabbits etc.). Please call to ensure availability.
>> More Angell Boston ECC diversion information
The Critical Care Unit (CCU) is equipped with continuous cardiac telemetry, blood pressure, pulse oximetry, blood gas and other monitoring devices. Specially-constructed oxygen cages provide an oxygen-enriched, temperature and humidity-controlled environment for our most critical patients. Advanced techniques such as blood component therapy, peritoneal dialysis, and ventilator therapy are also available.
For hospitalized patients in the CCU, trained volunteers of the Angell Comfort Care Program provide extra comfort and reassurance by petting, helping to feed, or just spending time with animals who are understandably anxious about being in the hospital.
Our Services
Angell’s 24 x 7 Emergency Critical Care service is available in our Boston location. Please call 617-522-7282 for more details.
- Dedicated nursing staff in emergency receiving and critical care. The nursing staff is trained in monitoring critically-ill patients on mechanical ventilators and requiring continuous drug infusions as well as a host of technical procedures.
- Whether handling emergency transfusion needs from trauma or immune disease, or managing the chronically ill with repeated transfusions, blood products are available at all times.
- The critical care service has multiple means of oxygen administration including mechanical ventilation with a state-of-the-art ventilator. With staff doctors, residents and a group of dedicated critical care nurses they take a team approach to the management of critical cases.
- Point-of-care 24 hour monitoring capabilities include direct and indirect arterial blood pressure, coagulation parameters, blood chemistries and blood gases, lactate, and most recently co-oximetry. Co-oximetry allows the staff to measure blood for methemoglobin and carboxyhemoglobin levels when acetominophen or carbon monoxide poisonings are suspected. The staff will also have the ability to monitor blood osmolality and colloid oncotic pressure in the near future. This will enable the staff to fine tune fluid therapies and medication administration to individual patient needs.
- Consultations available with specialists throughout the hospital. Daily cage-side rounds provide an environment for repeated case re-evaluation and allow the staff to adjust treatment in a timely manner.
- A critical care team is in the Critical Care Unit every day, backing up the veterinarians, receiving emergencies and helping to assess and monitor the patients. The team is made up of senior staff, residents, interns and nurses. The staff provides peritoneal dialysis, management of open abdomen, mechanical ventilation, management of severe pancreatitis, diabetic ketoacidosis, sepsis, poly-trauma among other critical conditions. The use of enteral and parenteral nutrition techniques is a routine part of the practice.
