Phone Numbers
Daytime 573-882-6857 Emergency 573-882-4589 FAX 573-884-0173
or 884-5444Business Office 573-882-1314 Appointments
Appointment hours vary with the individual service area. Referring veterinarians and community practice clients should telephone (573) 882-6857.
Regular hospital hours
Weekdays: 8 AM - 5 PM
Levels of Care
The VMTH offers all levels of patient care, extending from routine preventive medicine (including vaccinations) to referral services in most clinical disciplines. Many of the Hospital’s community practice customers simply make appointments and bring their animals directly to the VMTH. Others are referred by private veterinarians throughout the Midwest to take advantage of the Hospital’s sophisticated diagnostic procedures and treatments.
Students pursuing the DVM degree and interns/residents engaged in postgraduate training actively participate with Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery faculty and staff in each phase of patient care.
The Food Animal Hospital occupies half of the first floor and provides comprehensive health care for livestock. The design of the corrals, stalls, and chutes permit efficient, safe movement and restraint of cattle. About 35 stalls are available; some are designed to manage paralyzed cattle and recumbent calves. The Ambulatory Clinic provides individual and herd-health veterinary medical services for area livestock through the use of fully equipped radio-dispatched vehicles.
Specialty Services
Individual Animal Care Production Medicine Ambulatory Care Reproduction
Care Providers/People
Food Animal FacultyRoss P. Cowart, D.V.M., M.S., associate professor; diplomate, American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Food Animal) Tessa S. Marshall, B.V. Sc, M.S., clinical teaching professor John R. Middleton, D.V.M., Ph.D., associate professor; diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Loren G. Schultz, D.V.M., M.S., clinical assistant professor, diplomate, American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine Jeff W. Tyler, D.V.M., M.P.V.M., Ph.D., professor; diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Robert S. Youngquist, D.V.M., acting department chair, associate chair for academic affairs, and professor of theriogenology; diplomate, American College of Veterinary Theriogenologists Dietrich H. Volkmann, B.V.Sc., M. MedVet., clinical professor, diplomate, American College of Veterinary Theriogenologists
Faculty EmeritiClarence J. Bierschwal, D.V.M., M.S., professor emeritus, diplomate, American College of Theriogenologists A. David Weaver, B.V.Sc., D.M.V., Ph.D., professor emeritus Residents
Munashe Chigerwe, D.V.M., food animal medicine and surgery resident, diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Craig A. Lewis, D.V.M., food animal production/population medicine resident Jeanette Perry, D.V.M., food animal medicine, surgery and production medicine resident Interns
Sarai Rivera-Garcia, D.V.M., food animal medicine, surgery and production medicine intern
Food Animal TechniciansJulie Holle - senior veterinary technician Kathy Smith - senior veterinary technician Food Animal Staff
Carrie Robinson - service representative Karen Siegler - service representative Ronald Poe - food animal caretaker Jamie Webb - food animal caretaker
Patient Statistics
The food animal clinic maintains a hospital caseload of approximately 2,000 accessions/yr. This constitutes one of the busiest food animal caseloads in North America. The bulk of the caseload consists of traditional agricultural animals, including beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, sheep and goats. The clinic also provides service to nontraditional livestock owners. In addition to in-hospital care, the food animal clinic provides care to more than 15,000 animals/yr through its ambulatory service. Ambulatory service is generally restricted to farms located within 50 miles of the Columbia campus. The production medicine service provides state of the art consultative services to farmers regarding the prevention of disease and impaired productivity. Additionally, the production medicine service assists local veterinary practitioners throughout Missouri by providing emergency consultative and disease outbreak investigation resources for herd problems.
Case Referrals and Consultations
The food animal clinic welcomes referrals from private veterinary practitioners. These animals may be animals of exceptional value, or alternatively, difficult cases requiring the advanced diagnostic and treatment capabilities of a referral clinic. Upon admission of a referred animal, the referring veterinarian will be contacted by telephone and informed regarding the planned diagnostic and treatment procedures. At the time of discharge referring veterinarians will be mailed a copy of the discharge summary, permitting the local practitioner to continue necessary treatments and institute preventive measures in the herd of origin. This policy of close communications with referring veterinarians has resulted in an increasing number of animals being sent to the food animal clinic for advanced diagnostics and treatments. In the last year with complete records the number of referral cases increased nearly three-fold.
Client Communications
Owners of hospitalized animals will be contacted daily by either a veterinary student or a staff veterinarian to the animal's care, unless other arrangements are made. Additional inquiries regarding patient status are welcome during business hours through the food animal desk.
Emergency Services
In-House and Ambulatory The hospital provides after hours emergency services 24 hours/day, 365 days/yr. To access emergency services, clients should contact our answering service at 573-882-4589. The operator will contact the veterinarian on duty and the call will be returned in a timely manner.
Charges
Charges are levied to cover the costs of treatment, and are generally comparable to those of private veterinarians. It is often difficult to give an accurate estimate of anticipated charges prior to examining the animal. This is particularly true in managing animals with complicated problems. In these cases, even initial tests may fail to establish a diagnosis, and further procedures may be necessary. Advanced deposits are required for most diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The VMTH accepts most major credit cards.
Residency Programs [Eligibility Requirements]
The University of Missouri invites applicants for a 3-year residency in food animal medicine, surgery and production medicine. New graduates will be considered for a 4-year combined internship/residency program and should consider applying. This program is designed to be preparatory for board certification by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in the specialty of large animal internal medicine. The approximate breakdown of a 36-month residency will include 17 months in-house medicine and surgery, 10 months production medicine, 7 months devoted to either scholarly activities or board preparation and 2 months vacation. In-house training will be under the direct supervision of 4 ACVIM (internal medicine) diplomates. Production medicine and ambulatory portions of training will be supervised by ACVIM (2), ACT (2), ABVP (1) and ACVPM (1) diplomates, as well as 2 additional faculty.The University of Missouri maintains an active in-house caseload of approximately 2,000 accessions/year, a traditional ambulatory practice and a production medicine service, which provides herds consultative services and disease outbreak investigative support. Patients include beef, dairy, swine and small ruminants.
The resident will be required to enroll in graduate training leading to a Master of Science degree. Supporting faculty have active research programs that will readily support masters degree research. Examples of these programs include neonatal diarrhea, passive transfer of colostral immunoglobulin, pneumonia, lameness, spongiform encephalopathies, and micronutrient deficiencies.
Further information may be obtained by contacting:
Dr. Jeff W. Tyler, Diplomate ACVIM
Professor, Food Animal Medicine
Phone: (573) 882-6857
E-mail: TylerJ@.missouri.edu
Food Animal-Related Links
American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners (AASRP) American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) American College of Theriogenologists (ACT) American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM)
