ABOUT MICHIGAN VETERINARY SPECIALISTS
HISTORY
Established in 1990 in Bloomfield Hills by Drs. Dan Lorimer (veterinary ophthalmologist) and Laura DeLellis (veterinary cardiologist), Michigan Veterinary Specialists (MVS) was Michigan's first private, referral-based specialty veterinary practice. The innovative practice that offered ophthalmology and cardiology for pets thrived and within six months expanded to a second office suite.
In 1992, the practice relocated to a larger facility in Southfield where it was awarded the Veterinary Economics Merit Award for practice design. By then the practice included five specialty departments--Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Neurology and Critical Care--and had gained a national reputation for excellence in leadership. A second hospital in Auburn Hills was opened in 2003 as awareness and demand of MVS' specialized knowledge and personalized service continued to spread. By that time, the MVS team included more than 15 board-certified specialists and the practice was seeing patients from throughout the Midwest and Ontario.
Wanting to contribute to advancing veterinary medicine, MVS began offering an internship program in 1993 to provide instruction and specialist-guided experience for graduate veterinarians. In cooperation with regional veterinary colleges, MVS added residency training in 1999. To date, 75 interns have gone through the year-long advanced education program at MVS, which includes attending classes, treating emergency patients, shadowing specialists and assisting with surgeries. Many of those doctors have gone into specialty practice themselves.
In 2004, MVS began construction on a new Southfield location.
Working together with architects Ron Jona & Associates, Inc.,
the MVS team designed the 38,000 square foot building to function
in the most optimum fashion for veterinarians, clients and patients.
In summer 2005, the practice moved into the state-of-the-art veterinary
medical center, doubling its capacity and adding many new technologically
advanced pieces of equipment, enabling the MVS team to treat a
range of disorders.
Seeing an increasing, unmet need in Western Michigan for specialty
veterinary care, MVS opened their third hospital in Grand Rapids
in August 2008. The hospital currently offers internal medicine,
ophthalmology, oncology and dermatology services with the potential
to add additional services as needed.
In 2010, the partners of MVS decided to unite their business operations with BluePearl Veterinary Partners. BluePearl is owned and operated by a group of over 40 veterinary shareholders now including the partners at MVS. MVS currently embodies three of 12 BluePearl Veterinary Partners hospitals in seven states, all of which are led and managed locally.
SERVICES
A leader in specialized veterinary medicine, MVS has a history of being on the leading edge of new and innovative treatments and procedures. They were the first veterinary practice to offer TPLO (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy) surgery which replaces weak knees in dogs, as well as being one of approximately 15 practices nationwide, and the only on in Michigan, able to perform total elbow replacement surgeries. They also perform total hip replacements and are one of a handful of surgical centers that offers micro vascular surgery including kidney transplants and free skin flaps. In addition, MVS was early in treating ophthalmologic disorders through corneal transplants and intraocular lens implantation.
Each year, more than 1,700 general practice veterinarians from across Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Canada refer their clients to MVS' expert team of board-certified specialists, veterinarians and licensed technicians. Operating 24/7, MVS offers emergency care as well as services in Ophthalmology, Surgery, Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Cardiology, Oncology, Radiology and Neurology. Since its inception more than 100,000 patients have been seen and treated by the MVS team of expert veterinarians and technicians; the practice currently averages 1,000 patients per month.
MVS feels strongly about giving back to the community. They established
a non-profit charitable foundation called Canine Heroes Healthcare
Fund that provides insurance for veterinary health care of police
and search and rescue dogs. In addition, donations are used to
provide community education such as pet first aid and CPR classes
and to further veterinary research. MVS supports other animal-related
programs as well and for the past several years has been a key
sponsor of the Detroit Kennel Club Dog Show – one of only
six benched dog shows in the nation. Firm supporters of the Detroit
Zoo, MVS has been providing on-going pro-bono services to the
Detroit Zoo since MVS’ inception. Cases that MVS specialists
have treated include: diagnosis of an underlying liver condition
in a Siberian tiger that led to a diet change and extending the
tiger's life, recovered eyesight of several blind penguins by
cataract removal, and surgery on the hip of a grizzly bear which
restored its range of motion.
OPERATIONS
MVS operations are directed by a board of corporate officers:
Dan Lorimer, DVM, Chief Operating Officer; Laura DeLellis, DVM;
Ned Kuehn, DVM; Kyle Kerstetter, DVM; Brent Calhoun, DVM, Hospital
Administrator. The 120-member MVS team includes 33 doctors, 17
of whom are board-certified specialists, providing consultations
and treatments at three locations--Southfield, Auburn Hills and
Grand Rapids, Michigan. The main hospital in Southfield
is 38,000 sq. ft. while the Auburn Hills facility measures 9,000
sq. ft. and the Grand Rapids hospital is 6,000 sq. ft.
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