Expert Care when the need is CRITICAL
Emergency Medicine and Critical Care
Care for the Most Vulnerable
Criticalists are specialists trained to work with the most seriously ill or injured pets. Criticalists are board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC) and serve to oversee the emergency service and provide support for the emergency clinicians and other specialists. Together with a team of highly skilled emergency doctors, they manage patients with severe, life-threatening diseases including heart failure, respiratory distress, metabolic disease and trauma. The doctors work closely with patients’ families and their primary care veterinarian, providing ongoing guidance and information to help families make the best decisions for their beloved pets.
TERRY HALLOWELL
BOARD CERTIFIED—EMERGENCY/CRITICAL CARE
Dr. Terry Hallowell is a Florida native who graduated from the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine in 2007 with a special interest in emergency and critical care. She went on to complete a 1 year rotating small animal medicine and surgery internship at Veterinary Specialists of South Florida and completed her 3 year residency training in emergency and critical care at BluePearl-Tampa (formerly named Florida Veterinary Specialists). She received her board certification and become a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 2011. After taking a position in Monroeville, PA at Allegheny Veterinary Emergency Trauma & Specialty for several years, she relocated to Rhode Island to join the team at Ocean State Veterinary Specialists in 2013.
Dr. Hallowell’s professional interests include pulmonary critical care and mechanical ventilation, as well as endocrine emergencies, toxicology, anesthesia, acute kidney injury, and sepsis.
Dr. Hallowell and her husband Max enjoy many outdoor activities together such as hiking, biking, boating, kayaking, paddle boarding, as well as winter activities such as skiing. Their other hobbies include traveling and exploring restaurants and music. They have two dogs named Patches and Blaze and a calico cat named Sassafras.
JUSTINE A. JOHNSON
BOARD CERTIFIED—EMERGENCY/CRITICAL CARE
Dr. Johnson completed her veterinary degree at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University in 1991. She completed an internship at the Santa Cruz Veterinary hospital in California in 1992. After a few years doing general practice, teaching anatomy at a veterinary school, and completing a research project, she entered a residency program at Tufts University in the study of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care. She became board certified in this specialty in 1997.
Dr. Johnson has published several articles and textbook chapters in the topics of head trauma, nosocomial infections, and pain management. She has also lectured to veterinarians and technicians at regional veterinary conferences. She is an active member of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. She is the director of the internship and residency programs at OSVS.
Dr. Johnson enjoys riding her horse, planting (but not weeding) her garden, scuba diving, and other outdoorsy stuff. Most of all she loves spending time with (but not cleaning up after) her husband (Dr. Gary Block of OSVS), two amazing children, and a menagerie of pets that includes horses, goats, dogs, cats, tortoises, and about 60,000 honeybees.
World-Class Care
- Advanced intravenous fluid therapy to support fragile and critically ill patients.
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and post-resuscitation life support
- Mechanical ventilation for patients with respiratory failure
- Working with anesthesia team during high-risk or difficult anesthesia
- Nutritional support (intravenous nutrition and feeding tubes)
- Advanced management of peri-operative and post-traumatic pain
- Transfusion medicine
- Peritoneal dialysis
World-Class Care
- Advanced intravenous fluid therapy to support fragile and critically ill patients.
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and post-resuscitation life support
- Mechanical ventilation for patients with respiratory failure
- Working with anesthesia team during high-risk or difficult anesthesia
- Nutritional support (intravenous nutrition and feeding tubes)
- Advanced management of peri-operative and post-traumatic pain
- Transfusion medicine
- Peritoneal dialysis
The ICU
Patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) receive 24-hour monitoring and care. The ICU is fully equipped with:
- Continuous EKG monitoring using remote telemetry
- Oxygen therapy—oxygen cages, nasal oxygen lines
- Blood pressure monitors
- Pulse oximetry
- Rapid diagnostic testing including blood gas and electrolytes
- Extensive in-house blood bank for the treatment of life-threatening blood loss or anemia
- Mechanical ventilation
- 24-hour access to lab equipment and diagnostic imaging (X-rays, ultrasound, CT)
Advanced Nursing Care
The most valuable part of the intensive care unit at OSVS is the caring staff. Our veterinary technicians are specially trained in critical patient monitoring and advanced therapeutics. Their skills allow them to administer life-supporting treatments to patients while providing comfort and tender loving care.
Because they are with the patients 24 hours a day, our veterinary technicians are able to alert the doctors of any problems that may develop. The technicians get to know their patients and, through phone updates and during patient visits, they provide support to families worried about their ailing pets.
Advanced Nursing Care
The most valuable part of the intensive care unit at OSVS is the caring staff. Our veterinary technicians are specially trained in critical patient monitoring and advanced therapeutics. Their skills allow them to administer life-supporting treatments to patients while providing comfort and tender loving care.
Because they are with the patients 24 hours a day, our veterinary technicians are able to alert the doctors of any problems that may develop. The technicians get to know their patients and, through phone updates and during patient visits, they provide support to families worried about their ailing pets.