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Date: 10/12/2022
NORTHAMPTON – A veterinary center has officially opened in Northampton on 518 Pleasant St., close to both downtown Northampton and the on/off ramps for I-91.
Integrity Veterinary Center (IVC) is a new specialty and urgent care center that will offer appointments for their medical oncology, internal medicine, outpatient ultrasound and urgent care services. They officially opened on Oct. 10 and their ribbon cutting will occur on Oct. 14.
According to Martha MaloneyHuss, a board-certified medical oncologist and founder and medical director of the IVC, there are a few different types of veterinarians in the industry, the most important being a primary care provider – which is the equivalent of a pet’s family doctor.
But there are also emergency and specialty services often bundled together. These facilities are utilized when pets hurt themselves, or if pets have a problem that is beyond the scope of the primary care provider. “We typically have all types of these [places] in the industry,” said MaloneyHuss.
IVC, specifically, is not a true emergency room hospital, but rather, a place that offers those urgent care and specialty services.
“It’s more of an urgent care for those problems you need to get seen right away but aren’t necessarily life threatening,” said MaloneyHuss.
According to MaloneyHuss, there are very few types of these hospitals in the area. Some places offer internal medicine and ultrasound services, but the demand for those services far exceeds the supply.
MaloneyHuss said that her interest in starting this specific practice began at the end of last year. She has partnered with two of her colleagues, Erika Mueller – the chief operating officer of IVC who is board certified in emergency and critical care-and Claire Weigand, IVC’s chief of staff who is a board certified internal medicine specialist.
Both Weigand and Mueller have been practicing in their respective fields for over 20 years, and MaloneyHuss officially achieved board certification for her profession in 2019 with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Prior to that, she attended Smith College for her undergraduate studies, and then attended Cornell University for veterinary school.
She then completed a rotating internship at Ocean State Veterinary Specialists in East Greenwich, RI, a medical oncology internship at Oregon State University and a Translational Research Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a medical oncology residency at the University of Pennsylvania.
“When we take care of pets at this hospital, our aim is to practice the highest standard of medicine we possibly can, and to take care of each pet as if they are one of our own,” said MaloneyHuss. “If there’s anything we can do to make that pet’s life better, that’s what we want to be doing.”
People can visit their website to learn more about the services they offer: https://www.integrityvetcenter.com/.