$1M for a new veterinary centre of excellence

A new Centre of Excellence for Minimally Invasive Procedures (CEMIP) will be established at Université de Montréal’s veterinary school in Saint-Hyacinthe, thanks to a $1-million donation from pet food manufacturer Royal Canin Canada.

The Centre will specialize in treatment and veterinary education in minimally invasive procedures, an increasingly popular medical option that includes interventional radiology and cardiology and is linked with improved patient comfort and shorter recovery times.

“Minimally invasive procedures allow us to enter the body through natural routes and reach areas unattainable by standard surgery, such as the inside of the kidneys,” explained UdeM veterinary professor Dr. Marilyn Dunn, the project’s director. 

“The CEMIP will allow for a greater number of patients to be treated and provide a unique training experience for veterinary students servicing a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic options involving the respiratory, cardiovascular and urinary systems,” Dunn said.

The $1-million donation will assist in developing the Centre and its technology. Royal Canin and UdeM’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine will also team up to create a symposium to help entrench the importance of the minimally invasive approach in veterinary medicine throughout Canada.

The start date of work on the Centre is to be announced soon.

“The Centre illustrates yet another facet of the deep professional relationship between our school and Royal Canin, and will provide a vital resource for students, interns and residents currently in training, as well as veterinarians already established in their respective fields,” said faculty dean Christine Theoret.

“Our commitment to the veterinary profession is embedded in our culture,” added Dan Alvo, general manager of Royal Canin Canada, based outside Guelph, Ont.

“With UdeM’s veterinary faculty, we have a number of initiatives underway,” he said, “including providing its teaching hospital with pet food, supporting the Refuge CHUV and the Animaux des jeunes de la rue program. We also included faculty in our latest ‘vision-sharing’ meeting, a forum for representatives of Canadian veterinary schools to discuss the role of clinical nutrition in their curricula and the teaching hospitals.

“We’re excited by the impact our partnership with UdeM is having on the quality of the lives of pets throughout Canada,” Alvo concluded. “Our donation for the CEMIP is a critical part of that.”