$100,000 gift completes projected funding for OSU Small Animal Critical Care Unit

Thursday, June 19, 2008

The Oklahoma State University Foundation announced Thursday that it had received a $100,000 gift from the McCasland Foundation to complete the anticipated funding needed to upgrade the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences’ Small Animal Critical Care Unit at OSU.

“This gift will allow us to improve patient care and give us the ability to teach students in a way that wasn’t possible before,” said Dr. Michael Lorenz, dean of the CVHS.

The center’s critical care unit is the only facility in the state providing full-service, 24-hour care to small animals in critical condition. Not only does the unit provide quality care to roughly 8,000 animals each year, but it also serves as a training laboratory for veterinary students.

The McCasland gift will provide better housing for patients, improve monitoring systems, strengthen post-operative care and management for trauma patients, and increase capacity and outreach.

The McCasland Foundation is a family foundation in Duncan, Oklahoma, which was established by T. Howard McCasland in 1950. Barbara Braught, executive director of the foundation, said education is a main area of interest because McCasland believed education was the key to success. For more than 30 years, the McCasland Foundation has been a loyal OSU supporter. During that time, the foundation has given nearly $2 million to OSU, supporting many university areas.

The CVHS alone has received nearly $700,000 from the foundation, including funding for the McCasland Foundation Endowed Professorship, which supports a chair in veterinary medicine.

The foundation’s most recent gift completes the $500,000 projected need for the Small Animal Critical Care Unit upgrade. Half of the gift has been submitted, with the remainder to be awarded in spring 2009.

The CVHS is now working to secure a construction schedule for the upgrade. When completed, the McCasland Foundation’s gift will be named the Quiet Room, which is designated for anesthesia and post-surgical recovery patients needing a quiet environment.