About the Terry Center
The Randall B. Terry, Jr. Companion Animal Veterinary Medical Center fulfills Mr. Terry’s vision of creating a “national model of excellence” in specialty companion animal health care. Some 12 years in the planning and development, the $72 million Terry Center complex is made possible by the philanthropist’s $20 million bequest, appropriations from the 2006 North Carolina General Assembly, and ongoing private donations that continued to be matched by the R.B. Terry, Jr. Charitable Foundation.
With a focus on patient care, client comfort, and staff efficiency, the Randall B. Terry, Jr. Companion Animal Veterinary Medical Center is designed to help clinicians exceed client and referring veterinarian expectations for compassionate, state-of-the-art specialty health care.
The Terry Center, at 110,000-square-feet, is one of the nation’s largest veterinary hospitals and is more than twice the size of the original Small Animal Veterinary Teaching Hospital. When it began operating in 1983, the VTH had a planned capacity of 12,000 cases. Today our clinicians annually examine, diagnose, and treat more than 20,000 small animal patients referred to them by private practice veterinarians.
Veterinary medicine has experienced dramatic changes since 1983, including the growth of specialties and sub-specialties. The Terry Center is designed to meet the requirements of specialization and associated state of the art technologies. The heart of the new center remains an outstanding medical community that includes 123 faculty, 83 house officers (interns and residents), some 115 students, and 179 staff members—all dedicated to working with partner veterinarians and ensuring the health and well-being of companion animals.
Design features include:
- Thirty exam rooms, more than doubling the number of VTH exam rooms;
- Ten surgery suites, doubling the number of VTH operating rooms;
- Three dedicated emergency exam rooms;
- A greatly expanded Intensive Care Unit with patient visitation area;
- High flow air filtration in four isolation units and in emergency care to protect and treat patients from infectious diseases;
- A spacious pharmacy with specialized capabilities for sterile compounding of drugs for pet health needs;
- A pneumatic tube system to transfer lab specimens and drugs to speed patient diagnosis and treatment;
- Patient-focused design features include “night comfort” lighting in Intensive Care;
- Dedicated teaching space in each pavilion for instruction of DVM students and house officers;
- Pavilions with separate client entrances and reception areas for various clinical services; and,
- Abundance of natural light throughout public and patient care areas.
Medical enhancements include:
- A new state of the art linear accelerator to treat a variety of different forms of cancer with precision;
- A 64-slice Computed Tomography (CT) Scan to create high-resolution images of the heart, brain, or lungs in seconds;
- A biplane fluoroscopy unit for better visualization of complex structures—such as congenital heart defects—allowing for more accurate and faster placement of interventional devices;
- Four ultrasound stations in radiology for state-of-the-art, non-invasive imaging;
- Special copper-shielded rooms required for leading-edge neurological and ophthalmological diagnostics; and,
- A Canine Bone Marrow Transplant Unit with a reverse isolation air filtration system to protect immunocompromised and vulnerable patients—the Terry Center is the only academic clinical facility in the country offering canine bone marrow transplants.
Terry Center At a Glance information pdf.
Perspectives on the Terry Center. New Era in Veterinary Medicine video. Members of the College of Veterinary Medicine community discuss the Terry Center in this video. Editorial in the Raleigh News & Observer. Pre-opening coverage of the Terry Center: NBC-17 "My Carolina Today"
Clinical Services
The Terry Center is organized into individual specialty referral services, each with board-certified specialists and knowledgeable referral coordinators to answer your questions and schedule appointments.
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Emergency Service and Critical Care
- Internal Medicine
- Neurology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopedics
- Soft Tissue and Oncologic Surgery
Available Diagnostic Services and Clinical Support
- Diagnostic Imaging (Radiology)
- Clinical Pathology
- Clinical Microbiology
- Clinical Pharmacology
- Clinical Immunology
- Vector Borne Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (Tick Lab)
- Clinical Virology
- Surgical Pathology/Histopathology Services
- Laboratory for Advanced Electron and Light Optical Methods (LAELOM)
Patient Support Services
Client Support Services
Access to Special Features
- AnimalScan Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI
- Veterinary Health and Wellness Center
- Behavior Medicine
- Blood Bank Services
- Dentistry
- Exotic Animal Medicine Service
- Nutrition
- Mobility/ Rehabilitation Clinic
- Clinical Trials
- Safe Haven Program (Coming Soon)
- Feline Hyperthyroid Treatment Clinic
- Community Education and Outreach