Newest Technology Park Facility Provides Care for Four-legged Family Members
Chicago, July 8, 2009 — With the opening of a veterinary clinic at 2242 West Harrison this summer, Chicagoans can now have all their family’s medical needs conveniently met within the Illinois Medical District’s Chicago Technology Park.
The new clinic, which is operated by the University of Illinois Chicago Center for Veterinary Medicine, takes a fresh approach to pet healthcare, beginning with its name: Furnetic. To allow the curious to see for themselves, two open house events are scheduled: Friday, July 31, from 2 to 7 pm and Saturday, August 1, from 9 am to 1 pm.
“We get that pet owners expect the highest quality medical care and service when it comes to their furry loved ones,” says Dr. Rosemary LoGiudice, director of the Chicago Center for Veterinary Medicine. “We are here to provide a working definition of excellence in veterinary practice, a place where patients and their people are treated with caring, respect, professionalism, and the very latest in veterinary knowledge.
“In that respect, we complement the other medical services offered in neighboring blocks. The Furnetic difference is that our patients can’t tell us where it hurts, and they show their appreciation with licks and purrs.”
In addition to serving neighborhood pet owners, the new practice encourages employees of the Illinois Medical District and the University of Illinois at Chicago to use the clinic. On the day of an appointment, owners can drop their pet off in the morning, and return to meet with the doctor and pick the pet up at the end of the work day.
The idea behind Furnetic is to establish a showcase where students from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, home of the state’s only professional veterinary doctoral program, can observe and become involved in a state-of-the-art practice in an urban setting.
The University of Illinois connection also provides instant access to more than 80 veterinarians at the college’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the state’s most comprehensive veterinary facility.
“Furnetic veterinarians will focus on primary care for pets—new puppy and kitten examinations, ongoing wellness care, spays and neuters, treatment for routine health problems, geriatric care, and so forth,” explains Dr. LoGiudice. “But if advanced diagnostics or specialized care is needed for our patients, we have the experts literally at our fingertips through teleconferencing as well as through periodic consulting offered on site.”
Indeed, the Chicago Center for Veterinary Medicine will bring veterinary experts to the Harrison Street facility to provide referral services in oncology and other veterinary specialties beginning this fall. The Center is also headquarters for recruiting, outreach, and public education activities.
To find out more or to make an appointment, please call 312.226.2588 or visit furnetic.com.
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The College of Veterinary Medicine, part of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is the only veterinary college in Illinois and is a leader in veterinary and comparative biomedical education, scholarship, and public engagement in the University of Illinois system, in the state, in the nation, and around the world. Its programs and its graduates work to improve human, animal, and environmental health.
The Chicago Center for Veterinary Medicine, established in 2009 by the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, is the first institution of its kind among U.S. veterinary colleges. The Chicago Center for Veterinary Medicine serves as the college’s metropolitan headquarters, providing general and specialty veterinary care, veterinary student and practitioner education, student recruitment, public outreach, recruitment of patients for clinical trials, and collaborative research with Chicago-area institutions.
Furnetic is a primary care teaching facility, located in the Chicago Center for Veterinary Medicine at 2242 West Harrison Avenue, designed to showcase the future of veterinary care and introduce students to concepts relating to the daily management of a modern urban vet practice.
