Geelong Animal Referral Services is a purpose built, state of the art, veterinary referral hospital located in Newtown, Geelong.
Opening early September 2022, the hospital is truly world-class, already attracting referrals from the greater Barwon Region, Melbourne, Southwestern Victoria, South Australia and Southern NSW. The nearest facilities with capabilities similar to GARS are located in Melbourne and Adelaide.
The hospitals founders, Dr Ricky Cashmore and Dr Adrian Wallace, both grew up in regional Victoria and had a vision to bring first-class animal care out of the state’s capital. Both directors are highly experienced and dynamic specialist small animal surgeons. Prior to opening the hospital, Ricky and Adrian were already servicing veterinary clinics in the Barwon region via their mobile referral business, Melbourne Animal Referral Services, with very strong relationships already developed within Barwon veterinary community.
The beautiful greenspace area overlooking the Balyang golf course and the Barwon River was located as a suitable site for the hospital in 2020. The tranquil location was specifically selected for staff, clients and pets alike. Construction commenced soon after, with a dedicated medical and veterinary fitout team completing the build to exacting standards.
Recruitment of a tremendous team of specialists followed soon after, with Dr Helsa Teh and Dr Scott McCann heading up the internal medicine department. Dr Nicole Trigg was recruited to head up the emergency department as a specialist in emergency and critical care with Dr Tesh Smalle and Dr Alex Santamaria providing exceptional depth and experience to the surgical team. A fantastic team of interns, nurses, and customer service professionals have also been recruited ensuring optimal patient care is achieved for every pet and pet owner.
No expense was spared equipping the hospital with its state of the art equipment. The hospital is one of only a few in the state (and country) to include on site MRI, CT, fluoroscopy, endoscopy, arthroscopy, laparoscopy, interventional radiology, ultrasound, digital xray, ventilators, blood gas machines to name just a few, similar to that found in large ‘human’ hospitals.
It’s early days, but the centre is off to flying start with many cases already enjoying life improving and life-saving treatments!
If your pet is in need of specialist care please don’t hesitate to contact the GARS team as we are here to help you and your best little mate.
